1
June 20
Ghana Risk Review: June 2020
Prepared for Omega Risk Solutions by Keith Campbell Consulting Ltd www.kccltd.co.uk
Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES ...... 3 COUNTRY PROFILE ...... 1_Toc44285126 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 5 POLITICAL ...... 19 MAY - JUNE 2020 HEADLINES ...... 19 POLITICAL STABILITY ...... 20 GOVERNMENT EFFECTIVENESS ...... 21 INSTITUTIONAL BALANCE/FUNCTIONING ...... 23 CONTRACT FRUSTRATION ...... 24 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ...... 25 OPERATIONAL ...... 27 MAY - JUNE 2020 HEADLINES ...... 27 General...... 28 Power ...... 29 Aviation ...... 30 Roads/Transport ...... 30 Rail ...... 32 Water ...... 34 Ports ...... 35 Telecommunication/ICT ...... 35 SMALL SCALE/ILLEGAL MINING ...... 36 HEALTH ...... 37 NATURAL HAZARDS ...... 38 CORRUPTION/FRAUD/EMBEZZLEMENT/MISMANAGEMENT ...... 39 BUREAUCRACY ...... 42 LABOUR MILITANCY ...... 43 ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM/LEGISLATION ...... 44 SECURITY ...... 46 MAY - JUNE 2020 HEADLINES ...... 46 MARITIME ...... 47 PUBLIC ORDER ...... 48 CRIME ...... 52 ECONOMY ...... 56 MAY - JUNE 2020 HEADLINES ...... 56 GENERAL CONDITION ...... 57 MONETARY ASPECTS ...... 58 FISCAL ASPECTS ...... 59 TRADE AND INVESTMENT ...... 60 SECTOR ...... 62 Banking/Finance ...... 62 Agriculture and Fishing ...... 65 Mining ...... 68 Oil & Gas ...... 69 APPROACH ...... 71 RISK FACTORS AND SUB-RISK FACTORS ...... 73 USEFUL LINKS ...... 74
List of Figures
Figure 1: Ghana ______1 Figure 2: Seats by Party, 2016 ______2 Figure 3: Provisional Election Results, 2016 (%) ______2 Figure 4: Ghana Administrative Regions ______3 Figure 5: Infrastructure ______4 Figure 6: 3 x 3 Risk Matrix ______71 Figure 7: Risk Level Explanation ______72 Figure 8: Consolidated Political Risk ______73 Figure 9: Consolidated Operational Risk ______73 Figure 10: Consolidated Security Risk ______73 Figure 11: Consolidated Economic Risk ______73
List of Tables
Table 1: Key Dates - Politics ______20 Table 2: Key Dates - Operational ______27 Table 3: Key Dates - Security ______39 Table 4: Key Events - Economics ______47
[GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 1
Country Profile
Area: 238 533 sq km Population: 25.2 million (July 2013 est) Capital City: Accra Other Major Cities: Kumasi (1.773 million) People: Akan 47.5%, Mole-Dagbon 16.6%, Ewe 13.9%, Ga-Dangme 7.4%, Gurma 5.7%, Guan 3.7%, Grusi 2.5%, Mande-Busanga 1.1%, other 1.6% (2010 census) Language(s): English (official) Asante 14.8%, Ewe 12.7%, Fante 9.9%, Boron (Brong) 4.6%, Dagomba 4.3%, Dangme 4.3%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.7%, Akyem 3.4%, Ga 3.4%, Akuapem 2.9%, other (includes English (official)) 36.1% (2000 census) Religion(s): Christian 71.2% (Pentecostal/Charismatic 28.3%, Protestant 18.4%, Catholic 13.1%, other 11.4%), Muslim 17.6%, traditional 5.2%, Figure 1: Ghana other 0.8%, none 5.2% (2010 census) Currency: Cedi (GHC)
Major political parties: Convention People's Party or CPP [Dr Edmund DELLE]; Democratic Freedom Party or DFP [Obed Yao ASAMOAH]; Democratic People’s Party or DPP [T.N. WARD BREW]; Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere or EGLE [Henry GIDI]; Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Dr Henry LARTEY]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Samuel OFOSU-AMPOFO]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Nii Armah JOSIAH-AYEH]; New Patriotic Party or NPP [Freddie BLAY]; People's National Convention or PNC [Bernard Anbataayela MORNAH]
Government: Republic Independence: 6 March 1957 (from UK) Administrative Divisions: Ten regions: Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, and Western
Chief of State: President Nana AKUFO-ADDO won election 7 December 2016. The president is both the chief of state and head of government. Vice President: Dr Mahamudu BAWUMIA
Key Ministers: Minister for the Interior - Ambrose Dery Minister for National Security - Albert Kan-Dapaah Minister for Energy and Petroleum – John-Peter Amewu Minister for Finance - Ken Ofori-Atta Minister for Defence - Dominic Nitiwul Minister for Foreign Affairs - Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey Minister for Lands and Natural Resources - Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh Minister for Justice and Attorney-General – Gloria Afua Akuffo [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 2
Minister for Health - Kwaku Agyemang Manu Minister for Business Development - Ibrahim Awal Mohammed Minister for Railways - Joe Ghartey Minister for Agriculture - Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto
Elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held on 7 December 2016
Election results: Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO - 53.72%; John Dramani MAHAMA incumbent President; percent of vote – 44.53%, other 1.45%
Legislature: Unicameral Parliament (275 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote in single-seat constituencies to serve four-year terms) Elections: Last held on 7 December 2016; next December 2020
NPP
169
NDC
106
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 Figure 2: Seats by Party, 2016
NDC 38.5%
Map NPP 61.5%
Figure 3: Provisional Election Results, 2016 (%) [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 3
Source: http://districts.ghana-net.com/index.html Figure 4: Ghana Administrative Regions [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 4
Figure 5: Infrastructure
[GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 5
Executive Summary
Political – Risk Level: 2; Classification: Moderate; Trend: Stable
The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) held its primaries; Nana Akufo-Addo was the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is still without a running mate for its presidential candidate, former president John Mahama, the court ruled against the NDC on election matters and President Akufo-Addo had to apologise to Nigeria over the demolition of buildings at the latter’s embassy in Accra.
Political Stability: The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), on 20 June, concluded its primary elections. The results showed that 40 out of 168 incumbent NPP Members of Parliament (MPs), including five ministers lost their positions. A total of 374 aspirants contested in the 168 constituencies where the NPP has sitting MPs. On 4 June, the NPP designated President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as its presidential candidate for the 2020 elections. Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia will be his running mate for the General Elections, which will take place on 7 December 2020.
The main opposition NDC has not yet named a running mate for its presidential candidate, former president John Mahama. Mahama said in early May 2020 that his running mate will be named and introduced when the country has overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. On 22 June 2020, the National Communication Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, said that the party will make its manifesto public in August 2020. Note: Mahama has hinted at announcing a possible running mate a number of times since late 2019, but every time that an announcement was expected, he backed out and he and the party followed with a statement to the effect that they are still considering candidates.
Government Effectiveness: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament said it will not hesitate to invoke the powers bestowed upon it to suspend, reprimand or cause the dismissal of any public official who fails to honour its invitation. It followed the failure of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Governor, Ernest Addison, to attend a committee meeting, on 23 June 2020. The PAC threatened to cause his arrest if he failed to appear before the committee.
The Auditor General (AG), Daniel Yaw Domelevo, in June 2020 submitted a report on the Management of Petroleum Funds for the period 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018 to Parliament. He found that that various entities had failed to pay a total amount of US$310.34 million into the Petroleum Holding Fund. He also found that the Investment Advisory Committee (IAC), which measured the performance of the Petroleum Funds failed to do so. A Performance Audit Report of the AG in June 2020 revealed that the number of professionals at the various District Assemblies is inadequate and impacts negatively on the effective implementation of capital projects undertaken by the Assemblies. All 30 MMDAs had no maintenance plans for any of their capital projects.
The Majority Leader in Parliament and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah- Bonsu, said the standard of parliament in Ghana has declined, adding that many people join parliament only to be disappointed after finding out that the job is not lucrative enough, while they block the opportunities of those with true enthusiasm to do the job willingly. To root out corrupt revenue collection officials, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Ministry of Finance established a Tax Audit and Quality Assurance Unit. The new department will deal with all complaints of corruption and ensure that the public gets redress for any concern brought before it. Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia, launched a new single digital payment [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 6 platform in June 2020 that will provide a single point of access to all services of ministries, departments and agencies of government.
Institutional Balance/Functioning: The Supreme Court in a unanimous decision, on 25 June 2020, ruled that the Electoral Commission (EC) has the power to compile a new voters’ register. In terms of the ruling, people can only register with the Ghana Card issued by the National Identification Authority (NIA), or a passport or two persons serving as guarantors for an applicant. The EC said that it will conduct the registration exercise from 30 June 2020 to 6 August 2020.
The Court of Appeal dismissed an application from the BoG, which challenged the jurisdiction of the High Court to rule on the appeal against the revocation of GN Saving’ licence because it is insolvent. BoG argued that the only lawful forum for resolving the GN Savings concerns is the Ghana Arbitration Centre. The government is attempting to circumvent a key aspect of the constitutional provision meant to promote and protect academic freedom in its attempt to overhaul the running of the universities with a new Public University Bill. The bill seeks to grant the president the power to appoint the chancellors of all public universities.
Contract Frustration: MTN said it is headed to the courts to seek legal redress over the National Communication Authority (NCA's) decision to declare it a Significant Market Power (SMP). According to MTN, the declaration means that special regulatory restrictions would be enforced to potentially limit its growth, performance, innovativeness and its competitiveness in the telecoms market. Ghana is one of 12 countries that the European Commission (EC) found to have strategic deficiencies in anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regime, which it says has the tendency to fuel related crimes. The addition of the countries means that companies in any of them are prohibited from receiving new funding from the European Union (EU).
International Relations: President Akufo-Addo apologised to Nigeria after a building inside the Nigerian High Commission compound in Accra was demolished at the instigation of Paramount Chief of the Osu Traditional Area, Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI, who said the demolished building does not belong to the Nigerian High Commission. The government of Ghana announced it will rebuild the demolished structure. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), of which Ghana is a member, drew up a roadmap for the reopening of borders in the sub-region. [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 7
The classification remains Moderate and the trend is Stable. The primaries concluded as expected, following past patterns of surprise, allegations of bribery, threats by losers to stand as independent candidates and some violence (See Security Section). Meanwhile, emotions are starting to run high as the two main parties try to discredit each other. The presidential elections will be the third round of the ongoing political rivalry between President Akufo-Addo and Mahama. Mahama won when the two ran against each other in 2012. Akufo-Addo returned to claim victory in 2016. The election in 2020 is expected to be similarly close, focusing on sustaining the country’s continued economic development, financial sector reform, control of corruption, equity, and job creation. Despite the previous hard-fought campaigns, both political leaders distinguished themselves by working through the courts to adjudicate their differences and ultimately accepting defeat. These actions set precedents for how another close election would be handled. This cannot be taken for granted, however and all sides will need to exercise restraint to prevent emotions from spilling over into violence.
The election will create a contest around the economic performance where Mahama will be claiming his economic performance was under-appreciated, particularly when pitted against the current economy of President Akufo-Addo. The growth over the past few years has not necessarily changed the daily lives of many Ghanaians. As a significant portion of the country’s populace makes a living through daily informal work, the lack of a strong currency over the years has hit many locals in the pocket while fuel and food prices have steadily increased and the government has focused on tightening its public spending. The costs of governing Ghana remain an issue of contention with the public. Locals have grappled with the number of government ministers and their accompanying teams. President Akufo-Addo has also been hit by COVID-19. Where a few months ago, victory for the president and his NPP seemed sure, the battle for another term in office now seems much harder.
Ghana has a relatively strong set of institutions surrounding its elections, but opposition parties have claimed that the NPP has been eroding the independence of the Electoral Commission and the courts. Recent years have also seen increased pressure on civil society and the media. Ghana’s 2020 elections will be a test for the resiliency of Ghana’s institutions as indeed President Akufo-Addo seemed to be closing democratic space as his government’s actions around the use of the existing voter identification card and birth certificates and universities amongst others testify.
Meanwhile, as the largest economies in West Africa, Ghana and Nigeria's diplomatic relationship is crucial to the region and trade is a key part of that relationship. But recent incidents serve as a reminder that their diplomatic ties have not always been smooth. Last year disputes over the status of foreign traders led to the temporary closure of some Nigerian-owned shops. Another recent source of contention was Nigeria's decision to close its border with Benin, which affected traders across the region, including Ghanaians. Few expect to see the type of tensions witnessed in 1969-70 and 1983, when both sides expelled large numbers of the other's citizens. However, while Ghana apologised and will rebuild the destroyed buildings, its reaction to a rather serious incident left much to be desired. The government had a delicate decision to make between the important relations with Nigeria and its own citizen, keeping elections in mind. Ghanaians regularly express unhappiness with the presence of Nigerian traders in the country and in an election year, arresting a Paramount Chief to please Nigeria would probably have been the wrong move.
[GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 8
Operational – Risk Level: 3; Classification: Substantial; Trend: Improving
As of 28 June 2020, Ghana recorded 15 834 COVID-19 cases with 11 755 recoveries and 103 deaths. On 1 June 2020, President Akufo-Addo announced the lifting of a raft of restrictions. There are important developments regarding infrastructure projects, particularly regarding rail and ports, as well as corruption and labour.
Covid-19 Response: As of 28 June 2020, Ghana recorded 15 834 COVID-19 cases with 11 755 recoveries and 103 deaths. On 1 June 2020, President Akufo-Addo announced the lifting of a raft of restrictions, allowing amongst others faith-based organisations to start communal worship and schools to reopen. Borders remain closed. The non-wearing of face masks in public is now punishable by law.
Power: Following the first announcement in April 2020 of offering free solar leases for businesses in Kenya and Ghana, German energy company Redavia announced in June 2020 that it signed four new COVID-19 Resilience Leases in these countries.
Aviation: Domestic airline operators started recording a gradual surge in passenger traffic due to the easing of restrictions on movement to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease COVID-19. Passenger throughput from Accra to the two major domestic destinations of Kumasi and Tamale rose from nearly 1 850 travellers per week in early May 2020 to almost 2 800 passengers per week by mid-June 2020.
Roads: The Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwesi Amoako-Atta, in May 2020 started off the commencement of 40 kilometres of reconstruction work on the Agyiringanor Township roads in Accra. President Akufo-Addo inaugurated the first phase of the newly constructed Tema Motorway Interchange on 5 June 2020, with an assurance that the second phase of the project will commence by the last quarter of 2020. Other projects in Tema, President Akufo-Addo said, included the construction of the 64.4-kilometre Ashaiman Roundabout-Akosombo Junction road at a cost of €256 million, financed by Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW -development bank).
Amoako-Atta, said that a total of 3 312 kilometres of road, representing 48.6% in the Northern Region, are in poor condition. Government is awarding 36 additional road projects as part of efforts to improve the poor road network in the Upper West Region. These, in addition to the 78 already existing projects, brings the total number of road projects to be delivered in the region to 114.
Residents of Nyamekrom, a suburb of Koforidua in the Eastern Region, and residents in eight communities in the Ga West Municipal Assembly (GWMA), Greater Accra Region, said that unless the roads in their areas are repaired, they will not vote in elections. The National Road Safety Authority said Ghana recorded a 14% reduction in road traffic deaths between January and May 2020.
Rail: Ghana and Amandi Holdings Limited signed a US$560 million agreement for the construction of sections of the Western Railway Line (Standard Gauge Line) between Takoradi Harbour and the Huni Valley. The Project, which is the biggest single railway contract ever in the history of Ghana, would take 42 months to complete from the date of commencement (October 2020). Ghana signed a contract agreement with China’s Dongfang Electric International Corporation for the supply of locomotives and rolling stock, which makes up a [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 9 total of 35 standard gauge trains for passenger and freight services. Portions of the Achimota- Abofo section of the Accra-Nsawam rail line railway were washed away by floods. The line was recently laid by the Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL). GRCL however refuted claims that the railway line is a new construction by the Akufo-Addo government. President Akufo-Addo on 4 June 2020, on the advice of the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service (GHS), directed AFCONS, the company constructing the rail line from Tema to Mpakandan in the Asuogyaman District, to resume work immediately. All 82 workers of the company who tested positive for COVID-19 recovered.
Water: On 24 June 2020, Ghana became the 3rd African country (44th Party) to accede to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), serviced by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the 37th Party to the Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (Watercourses Convention). Ghana’s transboundary river basins cover over 75% of the country’s land surface and generate around 80% of freshwater flow.
UN-Habitat is providing three communities in Accra with facilities for handwashing to assist the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 The UN-Habitat project directly benefits 280 000 people in the informal settlements of Gamashie, Amui Djor-Ashaiman and Sabon Zongo. Work on the drinking water project in Tono, a town in the Kassena-Nankana district of the Upper East Region, is expected to be completed by July 2021.
Ports: The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) commissioned a team of consultants led by the German firm M/s Sellhorn Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH from Hamburg, to construct a new port at Keta in the Volta Region. The newly deployed Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) generated GH¢490 million in its first 17 days of operation. The system went live on 1 June 2020. The Acting Commissioner General, of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, said that the state is not losing any revenue at the country's entry points as ICUMS, which is the name of the Ghana version of South Korea’s Customs e- Clearing System (UNI-PASS), is working well. Freight forwarders are however concerned about delays in clearing goods at the ports due to challenges in accessing the ICUMS.
Telecommunications: Vodafone and MTN’s Ghana units are allowed to share subscriber data with the government to help it track down the contacts of coronavirus cases, a high court in Accra ruled on 23 June 2020. West African data centre solution provider MainOne commenced construction activities on its data centre project in Appolonia City, Ghana. A bill aimed at providing a legal framework for the establishment of a public communication technology university in Ghana was passed in mid-June 2020.
Small Scale/Illegal Mining: One person died at Patrensa in the Asante-Akim Central municipality in the Ashanti Region on 24 June 2020, when military personnel deployed to protect the concession of Owere Mines clashed with small-scale miners (Galamsey). The Ashanti Regional Police Command, on 13 May 2020, arrested 14 people, who posed as a task force from the Minerals Commission, who attacked illegal miners, killing one. The CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, called on the security services to scale up their operations in clamping down on illegal small-scale miners because they are destroying cocoa farms at an increased rate. Activities of Galamsey miners have become a menace to power supply in localities in the Central and Western North Regions due to the proximity of their activities to Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo’s) transmission towers.
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Health: Despite criticisms that greeted President Akufo-Addo’s promise to construct 88 new district hospitals across the country, he insisted that the project will commence in July 2020 and it is expected to take one year. The government is embarking on a nationwide random inspection of offices, shops and factories as coronavirus infections keep rising at workplaces. The exercise to be carried out by the Ministry of Ministry of Employment and Labour, from 1 July 2020, is to ensure strict compliance with and enforcement of all COVID-19 protocols. These industries and factories, according to the government guidelines announced by Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen, on 25 June 2020, must dedicate one room within the factory premises as a holding room to immediately house or quarantine anyone who is suspected to be showing symptoms and signs of COVID-19.
Natural Hazards: Some parts of Accra were hit by an earth tremor on 24 June 2020. According to the United States Geological Survey the quake reached magnitude 4.0 which makes it one of the strongest earthquakes in Ghana in years. Parts of Accra were submerged following a downpour which lasted about four hours on 10 June 2020. Properties worth several millions of cedis were destroyed, while one person was reported dead. The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in early June 2020 began spilling excess water to prevent a collapse of the Weija Dam (Greater Accra Region) as the water levels continue to exceed its capacity. As a result, properties, including houses farmlands, and pathways were submerged in flood waters.
Corruption: Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said in February 2020 that Airbus paid bribes of €3.85 million out of a promised €5 million in Ghana relating to the purchase of three C259 aircraft. The NPP identified one of the middlemen in the deal as Samuel Mahama, the brother of former President John Mahama. In mid-May 2020, the British Sun newspaper alleged that former President Mahama was complicit in the bribery scandal. The Sun also reported that an international arrest warrant has been issued by Ghanaian authorities for the arrest of four people, including Mahama's brother. Former British Actor, Phil Middlemiss, is alleged to be a key member of the corrupt network. Middlemiss, a close friend of Mahama's brother, is said to have temporarily relocated to Ghana to play his middleman role with his team for the sale of the military aircraft. On 21 June 2020, the former president for the first time reacted to the Airbus scandal, stating that he did not receive any bribes.
The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) threw out a case of alleged vote-buying and corruption against Mahama in June 2020. The NDC called on the Auditor General, Daniel Domelevo, to undertake a special audit of GH¢280.3 million that has been allocated by the government for the provision of food, water and sanitation under the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP), claiming that media reports indicated that state- sponsored COVID-19 relief items meant for the vulnerable, are being sold in the market by functionaries of the NPP in Kumasi and other parts of the country.
A report by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local chapter of Transparency International, said that despite the great potential of the mining sector, its contribution towards the national economy has fallen below expectation due to poor mineral sector governance and corrupt practices along the value chain.
The Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has been petitioned to investigate unsubstantiated payments at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection. Petitioning the Special Prosecutor is a pro-NDC pressure group, Strategic Thinkers Network (STRANEK). It said that six payments have been made by the Ministry, but requests for the relevant payment vouchers to substantiate the expenditure have proven futile. [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 11
Reputational: Ghana has been ranked as the third most peaceful African country and the 43rd most peaceful country in the world by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in its Global Peace Index (GPI), published in June 2020. Ghana is ranked 30 out of 180 countries (1=best; 180=worst) on the 2020 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), down from 27in 2019.
Afrobarometer survey data shows that popular support for media freedom in Ghana has increased sharply, bouncing back to the majority view after a decline recorded in 2017. Seven in 10 Ghanaians (72%) also say the media is “somewhat free” or “completely free” to report or comment on news without government censorship or interference.
Bureaucracy: Ghana banned the importation of cars older than 10 years to encourage international companies including Volkswagen AG and Nissan Motor Co. to set up local plants in the country. The import restrictions could cost the government as much as US$143 million in customs revenue in the first three years after implementation. The Minister of Tourism Arts and Culture, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, inaugurated the “Beyond the Return” Steering Committee in May 2020 to kickstart the 10-year project to position Ghana as the preferred destination for the African Diaspora and provide a boost to tourism.
Labour Militancy: Former staff of the now defunct Savings and Loans Companies (SLCs) and Microfinance Companies (MFCs) appealed to the government to expedite action on the payment of their severance packages. After three days of strike action, workers at Tema Port called off their industrial action on 18 June 2020 and allowed vessels in anchorage to berth at the port, after the Office of the President intervened in a dispute between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA). Freight forwarders at the Takoradi and Tema Ports protested in May and June 2020 over the failure of the UNI-ASS system to facilitate the smooth clearance of goods. Implementation of the pilot UNIPASS Single Window Project commenced on 28 February 2020. However, the system failed to deliver and started to cause disruptions in the trade facilitation chain. Health workers at the Pantang Hospital threatened to go on strike if their concerns over encroachment on the hospital’s property by land guards are not addressed.
Environment: The Kakum National Park has lost in excess of GH¢400,000 in revenue due to the Coronavirus outbreak, which culminated in its closure, the Heritage Conservation Trust (GHCT), managers of the facility, said.
[GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 12
The classification remains Substantial and the trend is Improving. The arrival of COVID-19 in Ghana exposed the degree of poverty in the country. The majority of the workforce in the country are in the informal sector, concentrated in the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions. As a result, the initial 21-day lockdown of Ghana’s biggest cities became financially unbearable for most of the population, a concern that gave the government little choice but to lift the restrictions. Ghana, which identified its first two coronavirus cases on 12 March, was the first in sub-Saharan Africa to ease movement restrictions after ramping up its testing capacity. However, confirmed cases has risen more than fivefold since the lockdown was lifted on 20 April. With the further lifting of restrictions on 1 June 2020 and the health system under strain, more cases and deaths are expected. Meanwhile trying to force people to wear face masks and imposing heavy penalties is unlikely to work as most people will not be able to afford to pay the fines. In addition, growing the prison population by putting people in jail heightens the risk of further spread. Forcing the measures onto the population will also likely result in protests.
Meanwhile infrastructure projects and politics are for now closely intertwined. The government has made the implementation of road projects one of its key priorities for 2020 as it is responsible for 98% of all transport in the country. The Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwesi Amoako-Atta, was rather forthcoming in revealing how much still needs to be done in terms of road development, but he was at least honest. However, the NPP created expectations around road development, for which they might be taken to task about by voters. The NPP promised to do better than the NDC, but ended up more or less in the same situation as the latter; a lack of finances, coordination and skills as well as operational difficulties means that it will take years to upgrade the road infrastructure. However, a flurry of commissioning of infrastructure projects can be expected as the government use their opportunities to also campaign for votes.
The large planned rail and port projects would assist in making the country a preferred investment destination; however, these projects will take many years to implement. COVID-19 has put a strain on government finances and projects might be delayed. In addition, such projects usually invite bribes and embezzlement of funds. Elections to determine which party will form the new government will also likely prompt investors to adopt a wait-and -see attitude.
A paperless custom system, which UNI-PASS strives to achieve, is supposed to work, and the implementation of a new system is expected to have teething problems. However, while COVID-19 is having a negative impact on the economy, it is taking too long to operate effectively. Industry role-players predict disruptions at the ports, which will cost Ghana in revenue, as the problems force all role players to submit to increased bureaucracy, instead of less.
Security – Risk Level: 2; Classification: Moderate; Trend: Stable
Notable developments relate to the hijacking of a Ghana flagged vessel, public order and the security services and impunity by security forces.
Maritime Security: The Ghana-flagged Tuna Purse Seine vessel, Panofi Frontier, hijacked by pirates in Benin waters on 24 June 2020 was located and guided to the Tema Port by the Ghana Navy. The vessel was hijacked by suspected Nigeria pirates. Five Koreans and one Ghanaian crew member taken captive by the pirates, are however yet to be located. The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) in collaboration with the Navy and Marine Police in June [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 13
2020 commenced all night security patrols at the Takoradi Anchorage and the western coastline to halt illegal fuel bunkering in the area. The Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and funding from the Government of Japan, commenced a new one-year project to develop the technical capacity of maritime crime control officials in Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The new project is to promote effective implementation of relevant regional and international maritime protocols through research and capacity development, in order to control maritime crime including piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
Public Order: The Circuit Court in Accra presided over by Judge Emmanuel Essandoh granted bail of GH¢100, 000 to a private security officer from VIP Security company, Bless Amedegbe, charged with assault on President Akufo-Addo. He allegedly incited people via YouTube and Whatsapp platforms to ignore lockdown regulations, to rise up against the President, set his home ablaze and to kill any police officer executing COVID-19 duties.
The NPP condemned the violence at some of its polling stations during its parliamentary primaries. For instance, there was chaos at the constituency office of the NPP on 20 June, as supporters of the two candidates contesting the Asante-Akim Central Constituency, Ashanti Region, clashed over names missing from the delegates’ list; and in Dormaa Central in the Bono Region, NPP youths on 5 June set ablaze the party's constituency office.
A 15-year-old, Amadu Yussif, was shot and wounded by police, on 6 June, in Walewale in the North East Region after they shut down a party held in breach of the government directive to have all pubs and night clubs closed; a group of merrymakers at Salaga in the Savannah Region attacked police officers on 23 June, called in to enforce COVID-19 laws; and the Municipal Police Command in Bolgatanga (Upper East Region) arrested 26 women on 11 May 2020 for failing to abide by social distancing rules. On the orders of the Bolgatanga Municipal Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Richard Anaba Salifu, some of the traders were beaten by officers. Salifu said that he ordered for the women to be beaten because they were not listening to the instructions from police.
A protest in Accra against the killing of George Floyd, an African American, by a white policeman during an arrest in Minneapolis, United States (US) in May 2020, ended with clashes, injured protesters and the organiser, Ernesto Yeboah, behind bars. Yeboah was charged with failing to contact the authorities before organising a “Black Lives Matter” vigil. A destooled (dethroned) Chief of Osu, Nii Jata, was arrested by the police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team for leading a group of 16-armed land guards to attack landowners at Pantang in Accra. Approximately 200 families of Fulani herdsmen were displaced at Goriba and Zamwara in the Mamprugu Moiduri district, North East Region, in a revenge attack by local communities in early May 2020. The violence was triggered after a confrontation between a farmer from the Mamprusi ethnic group and a Fulani herdsman. The Northern Regional Police Command launched a manhunt for one Jalil who is reported to be the leader of “Aluta Boys” a vigilante group affiliated to the NDC in the Northern Region in connection with a shooting at the party's office. The youths were dissatisfied over the suspension of some party officials.
Crime: A gun battle led to the death of two armed robbers and caused injury to one policeman in Kumasi, Ashanti Region. A special operation by the police in May led to the arrest of 15 women, who are part of a gang printing and spreading fake currency notes across the Kumasi Metropolis. A Nigerian national, Vivian Sadija Imran, is in police custody for allegedly [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 14 impersonating about 20 ministers of state to defraud more than 500 Ghanaians of over GH¢100,000. A team of security officers intercepted a consignment of 53 parcels of marijuana on 16 May 2020 in Aflao, Volta Region, on the border with Togo. Armed robbers on 8 May 2020 attacked and robbed a bullion van belonging to Absa Bank, carrying an unspecified amount of money from Techiman to Sunyani, Bono Region.
Security Services: On 26 June 2020, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) commenced an anti- terrorism operation named Eagle Claws in the Upper West Region along the Ghana-Togo border. In May 2020, a new regiment of the GAF, 154 Armoured Regiment, was introduced along with its first Commanding Officer (CO), Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Kofi Obiri-Yeboah, in Sunyani in the Bono Region. The Chief Executive for the Ketu South Municipality, Volta Region, Elliot Agbenorwu, said the intensified security presence along the Ghana-Togo border is to help enforce the President’s directive on the closure of the country’s borders. However, residents in border communities alleged that security officials are intimidating and physically abusing them.
Vice-President Bawumia commenced works to begin on the upgrading of inner roads in all Garrisons of the GAF across the country. The 250 kilometers of asphalt, bituminous surfacing and reconstruction forms part of the ongoing Barracks Re-generation Project (BRP). President Akufo-Addo commissioned a 64-block housing unit at the Duala Barracks of Burma Camp in May 2020 as part of the BRP. One of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF’s) Harbin Z-9 helicopter with eight people on board had to make an emergency landing after its tail rotor system malfunctioned. Nobody was injured.
Regional Security: There was heightened security at Ghana’s Paga border with Burkina Faso on 19 May, following a robbery incident, targeting traders at a black market in Dakola (Burkina Faso side of the border). Six armed men attacked traders at the market and made away with money in different currencies. Two Burkinabe members of the syndicate were arrested and handed over to Burkina Faso authorities.
The classification remains Moderate, with the trend Stable, but is on watch as violence might spike closer to elections. Politically motivated protests will increase with declining economic conditions and also in the run-up to the 2020 elections. Protests led by the opposition, civil society groups, and labour unions are frequent and often peaceful, but can disrupt traffic and cargo movement for up to six hours due to roadblocks. Demonstrations are, however, likely to turn violent if there are confrontations with security forces, leading to rioting and vandalism of property. Sporadic inter-communal violence is most likely to continue in the north. The fact that the security forces are seemingly using the COVID-19 regulations to clamp-own on the opposition, is likely to see an increase in violent confrontations. Security forces are also using excessive force to ensure compliance with COVID-19 measures, contributing to increased tensions. The COVID-19 measures and the stigma associated with the disease are serving as another trigger for increased violent incidents.
Economic – Risk Level: 3; Classification: Substantial; Trend: Improving
Growth is forecast to decline significantly, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) maintained its benchmark interest rate at 14.5% in May 2020; the budget deficit could exceed 7% of GDP in 2020; the trade balance for the first quarter of 2020 recorded a provisional surplus; and out of the [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 15
GH¢1.9 billion projected to be earned from the oil sector in the first quarter of 2020, only GH¢331 million was realised.
General: Ghana's economy grew 4.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020 compared with 6.7% in the same period last year, provisional data from the state statistics service showed on 17 June 2020. In May 2020, the BoG downgraded its 2020 growth forecast to between 2% and 2.5% from an earlier expectation of 6.8% due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The World Bank said in its latest Global Economic Prospects report, for June 2020, that growth of 1.5% is expected in 2020 and 3.4% in 2021. The government launched a US$9 million grant scheme to support indigenous small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism and leisure sector. Nearly 5,000 tech start-ups will receive between GH¢5,000 and GH¢50,000 from the government to develop their activities.
Monetary Aspects: The BoG maintained its benchmark interest rate at 14.5% in May 2020. On 25 June the Governor of the BoG, Ernest Addison, said that the bank may wait six months before it considers raising interest rates. Ghana’s inflation increased to 11.3% in May from 10.6% a month earlier. Addison said in mid-May 2020 that it was ready to continue with its Asset Purchase Programme up to GH¢10 billion in line with the current estimates of the financing gap from the COVID-19 pandemic. On 15 May 2020, the BoG, under the Asset Purchase Programme, purchased a Government COVID-19 relief bond with a face value of GH¢5.5 billion.
In the first half of 2020, the BoG committed a total of US$375 million to the forex market. Addison appeared before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on 24 June 2020. Addison told the committee that illegal forex trading has reduced; and that there has been stability in the exchange rate market.
Fiscal Aspects: Governor Addison said on 25 June 2020, that Ghana needed to raise more domestic revenue to address a growing budget deficit that could exceed 7% of GDP in 2020. The deficit was 3.4% of GDP in the first quarter of 2020 against a target of 1.04%. The government will on 29 June 2020 issue a 5-year cedi-denominated treasury bond, with maturity in 2025. The country’s total debt reached GH¢236.1 billion at the end of March 2020, according to the latest Summary of Economic and Financial data released by the BoG in mid- May 2020. This brings Ghana’s Debt-to-GDP-Ratio to 59.3%. According to the Fiscal Development Report (May 2020), total revenue and grants for the first quarter of 2020 was GH¢10,354.2 million (2.7% of GDP), substantially lower than the target of GH¢13,948.6 million (3.6% of GDP). Total expenditures from January to March 2020 amounted to GH¢20,764.6 million (5.4% of GDP), lower than the anticipated target of GH¢20,795.9 million. This outturn represents a year-on-year growth of 33%.
Trade: According to the BoG, the trade balance for the first quarter of 2020 recorded a provisional surplus of US$936.4 million (1.4% of GDP) compared to a surplus of US$642.4 million (1.0% of GDP) recorded for the same period in 2019. The capital and financial account recorded a net inflow to the tune of US$1,376 million for the first three months of 2020 compared to US$2,707 million net inflows for the same period in 2019. The 49.2% fall in net inflows reflected in declines in net inflows from foreign direct (69.3%) and portfolio (15.4%) investments net inflows as well as a larger net outflows in the other investment account. The British High Commission in Ghana held the first virtual United Kingdom (UK)-Ghana Business Council (UKGBC) meeting on 24 June 2020. British High Commissioner to Ghana Iain Walker said construction will soon begin on two UK Export-financed hospitals in Koforidua and Kumasi. The UK Minister for Africa, James Duddridge, announced a package of support for the [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 16 country’s pharmaceutical industry that will see the UK investing up to £450,000 to support the sector. The outgoing Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Shi Ting Wang, said on 5 June 2020 that China is now the biggest investor in Ghana with investments creating about 100,000 jobs for Ghanaian citizens with trade volumes exceeding US$7.40 billion in 2019.
Sector Developments
Banking • The BoG recorded a profit of GH¢1.8 billion for 2019 but the Board did not approve the payments of dividends for the year. • The BoG established a new FinTech and Innovation Office to drive the Bank’s cash- lite, e-payments, and digitisation agenda. • The BoG remains committed to piloting a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the bank’s First Deputy Governor, Maxwell Opoku-Afari, said. • Asset managers with investments locked up in second-tier lenders whose licenses have been revoked asked the government to convert most of the five-year zero- coupon bonds they were given as repayments into cash. • First National Bank Ghana acquired a 100% stake of GHL Bank (formerly Ghana Home Loans) from Harborough Limited effective 4 May 2020. • The BoG said that the banking sector performance improved at the end of March 2020, but there are emerging signs that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is beginning to weigh on the industry’s performance adversely. Total assets grew by 20.1% year-on-year. • The Digital Financial Services Policy builds on existing technological gains to create an innovative digital ecosystem. • The Cash-Lite Roadmap puts forward concrete steps to build an inclusive digital payments ecosystem.
Agriculture • The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) denied claims that banks are refusing to underwrite the risk for its annual billion-dollar syndicated loan over COVID-19 uncertainty. • On 23 June 2020, COCOBOD and lenders welcomed the first disbursement of US$200 million of a syndicated loan facility to boost cocoa productivity. The US$600 million syndicated loan agreement was signed in November 2019 at the Africa Investment Forum in Johannesburg. • COCOBOD is struggling to pay purchasing agents for beans bought from farmers after the coronavirus pandemic slowed exports and curtailed sales. The arrears have mounted to about US$208 million. • Ghana’s Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) began the disbursement of funds to players in the poultry value chain under its Poultry Value Chain Financing Programme (PVCFP) to support the local poultry industry. • A 145% hike in air freight and cargo charges for fresh fruits and vegetables is adversely impacting farmers and exporters. • The World Food Programme (WFP) provided equipment and funds worth GH¢1 million to facilitate the assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security and food prices. • Demolition of Accra’s James Town fishing community commenced in late May 2020, to make way for the construction of a China-funded multi-million-dollar fishing harbour. [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 17
• A trawler owned by a Chinese distant-water fishing firm has been impounded by Ghanaian authorities for a second time for breaking the country’s fisheries laws. • Three new Chinese-owned trawlers docked at Tema Port in May 2020, registered under the Ghanaian flag awaiting licensing by the Fisheries Commission to operate on the Ghanaian waters. The Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council (GNCFC) in an open letter to the Fisheries Commission, opposed the decision to grant the new vessels licenses to fish in Ghana's waters.
Mining • Shandong Gold Mining, one of China’s biggest gold producers, said it would buy Ghana-focused miner Cardinal Resources. Cardinal is focused on the Namdini gold deposit, which has 5.1 million ounces of proved and probable ore reserves. • Industrial gold output increased by six percent in 2019 from the previous year, while small-scale gold production dropped 20%. • The mining sector was the second-biggest contributor to government revenue in 2019. Its fiscal contribution increased by 70% to GH¢4.02 billion from GH¢2.36 billion cedi in 2018. • The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources in June 2020 issued 55 small scale mining licences to beneficiaries of the Community Mining Scheme. The scheme is a new mining model introduced by government to allow host mining communities to engage in lawful mining.
Oil&Gas • Out of the GH¢1.9 billion projected to be reaped from the oil sector in the first quarter of 2020, only GH¢331 million was realised. • The Ministry of Finance for the third consecutive year failed to account for unutilised Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) of oil revenues, the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) said. In its 2019 annual report on the management and use of petroleum revenues, the committee revealed that the amount stood at GH¢1.5 billion at the end of 2019. • The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, launched a digital measurement project to monitor revenues from downstream petroleum products from 20 depots across the country. • Oil firm Aker Energy, a subsidiary of Aker ASA, will revive plans to develop its deepwater Pecan oil discovery off Ghana, which had been put on hold in April due to the fall in oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic. • The government directed Eni SpA to start talks on a draft so-called unitisation and operating agreement with Springfield Exploration and Production Ltd to combine its Sankofa Oil and Gas fields with a Springfield block. • Kosmos Energy announced that in the first quarter of 2020, production in Ghana was unaffected by COVID-19 and averaged approximately 26,500 barrels of oil per day (bopd) net.
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The classification for Ghana remains Substantial, but an Improving trend. A significant source of uncertainty is how long oil prices will remain as depressed. The longer so, the greater the likelihood that investment in the oil sector will dwindle, undermining long-term growth. This could be a blessing in disguise, as the boost of the oil sector has given the government little incentive to develop other growth drivers and the downturn could force it to change tact. Ghana can realign its economy with a focus on the non-oil sectors, particularly agriculture. Planting for food and setting up factories were key policy areas to reduce the country’s dependence on imports when President Akufo-Addo took power in January 2017. The government has achieved mixed success, with agriculture lagging the economic growth average while manufacturing exceeded it, although not to the same extent as oil.
For Ghana’s central bank, the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated an old monetary policy dilemma of having to choose between reining in price moves and boosting economic growth. Food-price increases spurred by lockdown measures meant the central bank could not cut interest rates further to prop up the economy. While further easing may have supported an economy that is forecast to grow at the slowest pace in 37 years, inflation shot over the 10% upper boundary of the target band. This was due to increased demand for food stemming from the two panic-buying episodes before markets across the country were closed to do sanitation and partial lockdowns started in Accra and Kumasi. With the exchange rate remaining a threat as the country heads into the year-end elections analyst do not expect further policy rate easing in the coming months. In addition, Ghana’s public debt has been exacerbated by the twin financial and energy sector debt. This debt position is likely to deteriorate with the impact of COVID-19 and the 2020 elections.
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Political
Risk Factor Level Trend Political Moderate Stable
May - June 2020 Headlines
• 14 May - President Akufo-Addo dismissed the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Tarkwa-Nsuam Municipal Assembly, Western Region, Gilbert Ken Asmah. It is alleged that Asmah interfered in chieftaincy matters, illegal mining and other intra-party conflicts in his constituency. he was replaced by Benjamin Kesse • 20 May – The General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, criticised the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for accusing the ruling party and the National Identification Authority (NIA) of scheming to rig the 2020 general election. • 26 May - The President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Roland Affail Monney, said political parties must restrain their followers from attacking journalists before, during, and after the 2020 general elections. • 26 May - The Majority of Ghanaians who took part in a poll conducted by GhanaWeb called for a third force in politics. The results from the poll which ask whether it is time for a third political force other than the NPP and NDC had seen a total of 5,134 people partaking. Out of the total number, 3,205 people representing 62.43% opted for a third political force • 27 May - The NDC boycotted the Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting at the Electoral Commission (EC) because of dissatisfaction over the election register and the alleged violation of COVID-19 protocols • 2 Jun - Nana Akosua Frimpomaa-Sarpong, the Convention Peoples Party (CPP’s) former Vice Presidential Candidate said the party needs a complete overhaul from the ward level up for greater impact in Election 2020. • 3 Jun - The Minister of Railway Development, Joe Ghartey, said that the 97km eastern route rail line from Tema to Mpakadan is 60% complete • 10 Jun - The Electoral Commission is beefing up security and coronavirus safety protocols for the upcoming voters’ registration, set to start on 30 June 2020 • 11 -Jun James Agalga, the Builsa North NDC MP stated that the Akufo-Addo administration is intimidating citizens who speak out, and this violates their right to free speech. According to him, the arrest of the self-acclaimed pastor who allegedly threatened to kill Jean Mensa, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, breached his rights. • 14 Jun - Six polling station executives of the NPP in Asante Juaben constituency in the Ashanti region were suspended from the party for 21 days for invoking curses on some national executives • 19 Jun - The Chinese Embassy in Ghana presented medical supplies worth GH¢480, 000 to the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic • 25 Jun - The Cenre for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana says it is working in close collaboration with stakeholders to ensure that the upcoming elections are credible, transparent and peaceful [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 20
• 26 Jun - Gregory Andrews was appointed as Australia’s new High Commissioner to Ghana, replacing Andrew Barnes. Andrews is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He was most recently Assistant Secretary, International Organisations Branch. He has previously served overseas as First Secretary, Australian Embassy, Beijing • 26 Jun - The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers, CODEO, will deploy 700 observers for this year’s general election. The Observers will be deployed in two teams, with the first stream observing the election while the second monitor and observe the reactions of political parties after the election • 27 Jun - The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, said the 75th Anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter should spped -up negotiations to reform the UN Security Council to make it more representative, efficient and effective in addressing conflicts • Ghanaians will still not be able to enter any of the European Union countries when the bloc opens its borders on 1 July to a selection of 15 countries.
Event Date Presidential and Parliamentary elections 7 Dec 2020
Table 1: Key Dates - Politics
Political Stability
NPP Primaries. The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), on 20 June, concluded its primary elections. The primaries were postponed from 25 April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on 3 June 2020, the party agreed to hold the election in electoral areas in each district rather than at the constituency level to ensure social distancing. The Party also ruled that not more than 100 people must congregate at a voting centre, while also making available, alcohol-based hand sanitisers and face masks at each polling centre for delegates.
The results showed that 40 out of 168 incumbent NPP Members of Parliament (MPs), including five ministers lost. A total of 374 aspirants contested in the 168 constituencies where the NPP has sitting MPs. They comprise 325 males and 51 females. Sixty-five candidates went unopposed and were endorsed through acclamation in their respective constituencies. The Eastern Regional Secretary of the NPP, Jeff Konadu, said the party will go to court to stop any defeated aspirant from running as an independent candidate in the 7 December 2020 polls.
Akufo-Addo Acclaimed For 2020 Election. On 4 June, the NPP acclaimed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as its presidential candidate for the 2020 elections. The official ceremony for Akufo-Addo’s acclamation took place on 27 June 2020. Article 13 (2) (1) of the NPP Constitution provides for acclamation where there is a sole Candidate for the Presidency by the close of nominations. After his acclamation, the President announced Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia as his running mate for the 2020 General Elections, which will take place on 7 December 2020. The nomination of the running mate was also a mere formality in line with the party’s constitution. President Akufo-Addo already, in February 2020, announced that Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia, will be his running mate. Since the party could not hold its congress, due to the persistent spread of the novel COVID-19 in the country, the onus fell on the party’s National Council to perform the acclamation.
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The Battle Is On. In his acceptance speech, President Akufo-Addo said that the NPP has a “good story to tell,” while he also focused on criticising the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). He said that the NDC destroyed the economy, while the NPP recued the economy. He went on to state that the NPP created a properly regulated, enabling atmosphere for businesses to flourish, while the NDC allowed “chancers and speculators” to lure citizens into putting their monies into “dodgy” enterprises. Furthermore, he said, the NDC collapsed the banking sector and the NPP had to clean-up, adding that the NDC brought load shedding, which the NPP eliminated. Akufo-Addo stressed that the NPP owes it to the country to win elections to prevent the NDC from ruining the economy again.
Meanwhile the NDC launched a website, www.nppfailedpromises.com, to assist the electorates to track and fact check what it claims to be the failed promises of the Akufo-Addo- led government. The NDC argued that despite the campaign pledge by then-candidate Akufo- Addo, little has been done in the last three and a half years to fulfil these pledges. The North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said that out of the 631 promises made by the current administration, only 86 have been achieved representing 14%.
No Running Mate for Mahama Yet. The main opposition NDC has not yet named a running mate for its presidential candidate, former president John Mahama. Mahama said in early May 2020 that his running mate will be named and introduced when the country has overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that although he had a firm idea who his running mate would be, it was not ideal to name the person when the country was still battling COVID- 19. Mahama added that he was not late in naming his running mate, since the deadline for naming a running mate is when the Electoral Commission (EC) opens nominations in September 2020. On 22 June 2020, the National Communication Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, said that the party will make its manifesto public in August 2020.
Since his election as the flag bearer of the NDC in February 2019, a number of names have popped up as possible running mates for Mahama. They include Ghana’s longest-serving Finance Minister, Professor Kwesi Botchwey; the Member of Parliament for Asunafo South, Eric Opoku; the party’s General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu-Nketia; a former Chief Executive of the Ghana Gas Company, George Sipa Yankey; a former Health Minister, Samuel Nuamah- Donkor; and a businessman, Leslie Tamakloe.
CIPA. A Coalition of Independent Presidential Aspirants (CIPA) said that they want to change history and deliver to Ghanaians better accountability, better citizen-centred management of its economy and resources, and a long-term agenda that secures Ghana's posterity. According to a press release, the presidential campaigns of the various Independent Aspirants reached a consensus that the best approach to fight for the survival of Ghana and dispose of the NDC and NPP, was to unite behind a single campaign agenda. It added that neither of the two major political party leadership cares enough to understand the real needs of the ordinary people.
Government Effectiveness
BoG Defiance. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament said it will not hesitate to invoke the powers bestowed upon it to suspend, reprimand or cause the dismissal of any public official who fails to honour its invitation. It followed the failure of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Ernest Addison, to attend a committee meeting on 23 June 2020. The PAC threatened to cause his arrest if he failed to appear before the committee. PAC complained that several invitations to the governor to answer some questions on the economy was ignored. The committee deferred its sitting over the absence of Addison to the next day when he attended. [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 22
Management of Petroleum Funds. The Auditor General (AG), Daniel Yaw Domelevo, in June 2020 submitted a report on the Management of Petroleum Funds for the period 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018 to Parliament. The audit was carried out in accordance with Article 187(2) of the Constitution of Ghana, Section 16 of the Audit Service Act 2000, (Act 584), and Section 45 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act 2011, (Act 815). Domelevo observed that various entities had failed to pay a total amount of US$310.34 million into the Petroleum Holding Fund. The A-G made this observation in his report to Parliament on The Management of Petroleum Funds for the Financial Year Ended 31 December 2018. Domelevo indicated that of the outstanding amount, Ghana National Gas Company Limited owes US$308.77 million for gas supplied by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC). The AG estimated the amount of penalties due from the default to be US$10.79 billion. The remaining outstanding amount of US$1.57 million attributed to surface rental fees unpaid by various petroleum exploration entities such as Heritage Exploration and Production Ghana Ltd Management, Sahara Fields Energy Ltd, Britannia-U Ghana Ltd and Swiss African Oil Company Ltd management. The AG recommended that all monies assessed as due and outstanding to the Petroleum Holding Fund should be promptly collected and any late payments should attract interest.
The Second Schedule (Subsection 6) of Act 815 requires that the Investment Advisory Committee (IAC) measured periodically the performance of the Ghana Petroleum Funds against the benchmark that the IAC had developed. The AG however, reported that he did not obtain evidence on how the IAC measured the performance of the Fund. The AG said if the IAC fails to do periodic measurement of the Funds’ performance, it may not identify sub- optimal performance for appropriate remedial decision. He therefore recommended that the IAC should determine the benchmark for measuring funds’ performance and conduct periodic monitoring of the performance. The Management responded that the process for setting the Benchmark for performance measurement was ongoing.
To ensure transparency and keep the public informed on the transactions of the Fund, the A- G recommended that PIAC should ensure timely publication of the accounts as prescribed by Section 56 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, Act 815.
Ineffective Assemblies. A Performance Audit Report of the AG, in June 2020, revealed that the number of professionals at the various District Assemblies is inadequate and impacts negatively on the effective implementation of capital projects undertaken by the Assemblies. According to the AG, while some qualified professionals do not accept postings to rural areas, the few who accept to go to rural assemblies are often moved out contrary to laid down human resource policy of the Local Government Service thereby affecting ongoing projects. The AG also noted that the lack of certified architects to prepare design drawings for projects had forced most of the assemblies to adopt and rely on project designs prepared elsewhere without recourse to the topographical conditions of their individual localities.
In addition, the report showed that in awarding the contracts, the contract sums in many instances turn out to be almost the same as budgeted figures for such projects, an indication that contractors are given insider information during the bidding process. For instance, the construction of a four-storey Community Centre at Chorkor, Accra Metropolitan Assembly budgeted for GH¢4,722,305.00 in their annual plan while the contract was awarded at GH¢4,722,304.95. The Report cited instances of suspected manoeuvring and manipulation of the procurement procedures in which contractors were bidding and circulating projects in the districts among themselves. The Report also revealed that at the time of the audit, each of [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 23 the 30 Assemblies audited was undertaking not less than 15 capital projects. The AG noted that the limited budgets of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) could not support the full completion of all the projects as scheduled.
Finally, all 30 MMDAs had no maintenance plans for any of their capital projects. They anticipate that user agencies would maintain these projects once they are completed and handed over. The Assemblies thus did not provide budgetary allocation to support maintenance activity of these projects to prolong their usage. The AG recommended that the Ministry of Local government and Rural Development (MLGRD) builds the capacity of key players involved in project implementation and comply with the policy on staff transfer to ensure continuity in project implementation. He also urged MMDAs to respect the procurement processes, improve internal controls to ensure value for money, complete ongoing projects before starting new ones as well as develop maintenance plans for projects.
Mensah-Bonsu on ineffective Government. The Majority Leader in Parliament and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, criticised the media for the loss of “credible” lawmakers in parliament. He accused journalists of taking bribes from people they know are not competent enough to be in parliament to write stories tarnishing the names of competent ministers and MPs. He added that expert and professional people, once they enter parliament are rendered ineffective because of politics and the conduct of the media. He said that it is the media’s duty to educate the public on the genuine responsibility of parliament for them to make good decisions during voting.
Tax Audit and Quality Assurance Unit. To root out corrupt revenue collection officials, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Ministry of Finance established a Tax Audit and Quality Assurance Unit. The new department will deal with all complaints of corruption and ensure that the public gets redress for any concern brought before it. It will also serve as the auditing arm of the GRA and re-audit the work of officers to ensure they have not short-changed government through their actions, knowingly or unknowingly. The Commissioner General of the GRA, Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, said that there are many complaints about every tax authority about corruption and taxes that is not rightly calculated. Through the establishment of this unit, Owusu-Amoah added, the authority is now setting up a centralised audit-planning process. The unit will be critical for revenue mobilisation efforts going forward, he said.
National Digital Payment Platform. Vice President, Mahamadu Bawumia, launched a new single digital payment platform in June 2020 that is expected to enhance government’s digitisation agenda. The single digital platform dubbed Ghana.GOV will provide a single point of access to all services of ministries, departments and agencies of government. The three main benefits of the payment platform include growth in government revenue collections, deepening expenditure savings and helping the fight against corruption by reducing human interface in the administration of public services.
Institutional Balance/Functioning
Court Ruling on EC. The Supreme Court in a unanimous decision, on 25 June, ruled that the Electoral Commission (EC) has the power to compile a new voters’ register. Private citizen Mark Takyi-Banson and the opposition NDC filed the case in court asking that it stops the EC from compiling the register or allow the use of birth certificates and voters ID card by prospective voters as proof of identification.
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The court in its decision held that the EC is an independent body and will only be directed by the court if it acts contrary to law. The Supreme Court also dismissed the two suits that were seeking the use of the existing voter identification card and birth certificates as the source documents for the voter registration exercise. In terms of the ruling, people can only register with the Ghana Card issued by the National Identification Authority (NIA), or a passport or two persons serving as guarantors for an applicant. The EC said that it will start the registration exercise from 30 June 2020 to 6 August 2020.
BoG Challenges Jurisdiction of High Court. The Court of Appeal dismissed an application from the BoG, which challenged the jurisdiction of the High Court. BoG argued that the High Court has no jurisdiction to hear the complaint which is challenging the revocation of GN Saving’ licence. GN Saving and Loans was declared insolvent in August 2019. It argued that the only lawful forum for resolving the GN Savings concerns is the Ghana Arbitration Centre. However, the High Court dismissed its application in December 2019; thereby causing the BoG to seek redress at the Court of Appeal. Ruling on BoG’s appeal on 22 June 2020, the Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed BoG’s application and directed it to go back to the High Court and justify the revocation of the licence. Lawyer for GN Savings, Justice Srem-Sai, expressed concern about BoG’s actions aimed at stalling the case and thereby, perverting the course of justice.
Academic Freedom Reportedly Under Threat. In 1992, Ghana passed the Fourth Republican Constitution, which explicitly recognises academic freedom. This makes Ghana one of only 14 African countries to do so. The constitution bars the president from taking the position of chancellor of any public university. It also gives universities the power to set up their own governing councils. But the constitution also grants the president the power to appoint a national council for tertiary education to coordinate the functioning of the public universities. The current government is attempting to circumvent a key aspect of these constitutional provisions meant to promote and protect academic freedom in its attempt to overhaul the running of the universities with a new Public University Bill.
A memorandum accompanying the bill states, in part, that it is designed to curb “grave improprieties in the utilisation of resources” in public universities. Based on this claim, the bill seeks to grant the president the power to appoint the chancellors of all public universities. The same applies to the appointment of chairs of all university councils. Currently, chancellors are appointed by university councils whose heads are appointed by the president. The bill also whittles down the composition of the councils from about 21, depending on the university, to 13. The majority – eight – would be appointed by the president. The new bill allows councils to appoint vice chancellors. But the president’s majority stake in council membership means that vice chancellors would in practice be presidential appointees.
The University Teachers Association of Ghana, on its part, noted in its memorandum that it opposes the enactment of a harmonised act and statutes to regulate all public universities under one platform. In its opinion, the bill sins against fundamental provisions of the Fourth Republican Constitution and if passed in its present form, it will not hesitate to institute legal proceedings to challenge them before the Supreme Court.
Contract Frustration
MTN Troubles. MTN said it is headed to the courts to seek legal redress over the National Communication Authority (NCA's) decision to declare it a Significant Market Power (SMP). MTN in a press release said although it acknowledges the NCA’s duty and powers to promote [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 25 fair competition amongst licensed operators in Ghana’s telecommunications sector, the manner of the recent declaration raises concerns about clear procedural breaches and substantive issues. According to MTN, the declaration means that special regulatory restrictions would be enforced to potentially limit its growth, performance, innovativeness and its competitiveness in the telecoms market. However, the company said in a statement on 26 June 2020 it remains "open to dialogue to achieve an amicable resolution to this matter."
Following the NCA’s declaration, MTN Ghana refrained from publicly commenting on the matter and engaged in dialogue with the regulatory authority and other stakeholders to share views on the matter. "While these engagements have been largely encouraging, the NCA continues with implementation of the specified interventions. As such, MTN Ghana has after much consultation, and as a last resort, made the difficult decision to resort to the Law Courts for redress in the form of a judicial review of NCA’s decision, to ensure the observance of the requirements of procedural fairness,” the statement added.
Statistics from the NCA showed MTN’s share in mobile data subscriptions accounted for almost 70% of the market from January to March 2020. To correct this, the regulator will implement a series of measures including a favourable connection rate for disadvantaged operators, the setting of floor and ceiling pricing on all minutes, data, text messages and mobile money, and ensure the various operator vendors are not subject to exclusionary pricing or behaviour.
Meanwhile the Minister of Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, in May 2020 shut down the MTN office at Dansoman Zodiac for flouting the social distancing rule. The Minister was reportedly passing by the office when she observed that many people were gathered in front of the office. She ordered for the closure of the office until better precautionary measures are put in place
International Relations
Apologies to Nigeria Over Demolished Building. President Akufo-Addo apologised to Nigeria after a building inside the Nigerian High Commission compound in Accra was demolished. The building which was still undergoing construction was being built to house staff and visiting diplomats to the Nigeria High Commission in Ghana. President Akufo-Addo ordered an investigation, a statement from the Nigerian government said after his call with President Muhammadu Buhari. A businessman who had previously claimed that he owned the land where the building was being put up led a demolition operation. The armed men accompanying him threatened to shoot staff of the Nigerian embassy who were present at the scene if they interfere in their operations. Ghana’s Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration ministry said it “has beefed up security at the said facility and the situation is under control.” Two people were arrested and charged by the police.
The Paramount Chief of the Osu Traditional Area, Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI, said the demolished building does not belong to the Nigerian High Commission. Nii Kinka Dowuona VI said that it is only the stool that has the mandate to grant a lease for the land. The Chief accused the Nigerian High Commission of aiding a businessperson of Nigerian origin to take over the land forcefully.
According to the head of security at the High Commission Emmanuel Kabutey, Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona told them that they had the backing of National Security. Kabutey complained [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 26 about the lacklustre attitude of the police in handling the situation. When the police came, he said, they did not come to the embassy but went straight to the Paramount Chief, had a friendly chat, exchanged numbers with him and allowed him to go.
The government of Ghana announced it will rebuild the demolished structure. Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said, “the government will ensure the structure is restored to its original state.” Botchwey noted that although the incident was “not a government-sanctioned activity” the state will bear the cost of the reconstruction of the building.
ECOWAS Roadmap for Reopening Borders. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), of which Ghana is a member, drew up a roadmap for the reopening of borders in the sub-region. Borders in the ECOWAS region have been closed for weeks due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. The reopening would be done in phases as pointed out in a statement by ECOWAS after a four days video conference in June 2020.The first phase, called “internal”, consists of reopening domestic airports and lifting restrictions on land transportation within ECOWAS member states in late June 2020, it said. The second phase will allow the free movement of goods and people. The proposed date is the first fortnight of July (July 15 at the latest). Finally, ECOWAS will openair and land borders to other countries (excluding ECOWAS) that do not have high levels of COVID-19 contamination rate from the second half of July (July 31, 2020 at the latest). By July 22, all African flights will be allowed and by August 1 all intercontinental flights.
Ghana returns to EU’s blacklist. Ghana is one of 12 countries that the European Commission (EC) found to have “strategic deficiencies in anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regime” which it says has the tendency to fuel related crimes. The other countries are The Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Jamaica, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar/Burma, Nicaragua, Panama and Zimbabwe. In a statement issued on 7 May 2020, the Commission said the AML/CFT regimes of Ghana and the 12 other countries “pose significant threats to the financial system of the European Union (EU).” This is the second year in a row that Ghana has been added to the EU’s blacklist. The statement explained that the key new elements in the revised methodology used for the current listing was that it had an increased interaction with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) listing process, it had an enhanced engagement with the third world countries and it reinforced consultation of Member States and the European Parliament. The addition of the countries means that companies in any of them are prohibited from receiving new funding from the European Union (EU). The updated list is set to come into force in October 2020. Banks and other financial and tax firms are obligated to inspect more closely their clients who have any dealings with countries on the list, according to EU law. Ghana questioned the credibility of the methodology and the process used by the EC to keep it on the blacklist In a press statement issued on 21 May 2020, by the Ministry of Finance it said the decision was "unfortunate," regrettable and lacked consultation.
Chinese Protest. Over the last several weeks, videos and reports surfaced of Africans living in China being subjected to racist treatment, including being kicked out of establishments to being refused medical treatment amid the global COVID-19 crisis. In Accra in early May 2020 a silent procession took place at Black Star Square as a sign of solidarity with Africans allegedly being marginalised and abused in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. The movement was led by Ghanian billionaire, Nana Kwame Bediak, a well-known industrialist and entrepreneur, who is demanding the Chinese government offer a formal apology to all black people worldwide. [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 27
Operational
Risk Factor Level Trend Operation Substantial Improving
May - June 2020 Headlines
• 11 May - Over 81 permanent workers of the Ridge Royal Hotel in Cape Coast in the Central Region invaded the premises, demanding the payment of their April salaries as promised after the hotel closed down temporarily due to COVID-19 • 14 May - The Bono Regional Command of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) denied allegations that its officers stationed in the town of Nkrankwanta take bribes from foreigners and allow them entry into the country in spite of the travel ban due to the COVID-19 pandemic • 19 May - The government said that it paid over GH¢200 billion in debt owed to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) which will put the power distributor on a sound financial footing • 26 May - The Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company (GWCL), Clifford Braimah, said that old water pipes in urban areas of the country are part of the reason for water supply challenges to households. Braimah said that some pipelines are as old as 92 years • 29 May - Fifty-eight workers tested positive for COVID-19 at an oil production facility run by Tullow Oil off Ghana’s Atlantic coast • 30 May - Monpe Heavy Haulage Company Limited donated GH¢144, 387.25 to the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, at Sekondi, for the purchase of ventilators to enhance the fight against COVID-19 • 1 Jun - President Akufo-Addo appointed Sandra Opoku as the Director of the Tema Port. Until her appointment, she had acted in that position since March 2019. Opoku takes over from Edward Kofi Osei, who retired • 5 Jun - Duraplast Limited, a manufacturer of plastic products, presented 40 water tanks and 10 hand-washing machines to the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) to help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The items are valued at GH¢140,000 • 8 Jun - The NDC initiated a programme dubbed the Corruption Tracker series aimed at uncovering all the alleged corrupt deals under the Akufo-Addo-led NPP government • 10 Jun - Chinese illegal miners are causing pollution in the Bia River in the Western North Region. According to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, cyanides and mercury were dumped into the river by the illegal miners • 11 Jun - The government has received a consignment of 20,000 test units from two organisations to support the country's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Olam International, a global agribusiness and supply chain management firm and the Singapore-based Temasek Foundation donated the kits • 12 Jun - Two new bridges are to be constructed on the Bupei and Yapei sections (Savannah Region) of the White and Black Volta Rivers respectively on the Tamale- Kumasi highway [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 28
• 21 Jun - A female journalist of Kindom FM, Rebecca Asheley Armarh, covering the NPP primaries in Tema East was harassed, threatened and arrested by police officers at one of the polling centres for taking pictures of events • 15 Jun - Residents of Amansie Central District in the Ashanti Region appealed to authorities to crack the whip on illegal mining activities in the district. The residents say their only source of water was destroyed due to the activities of illegal miners • 25 Jun - The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, is challenging the Auditor General (AG), Daniel Yaw Domelevo, regarding the appointment of two of his staff onto a five- member audit committee to audit the accounts of his office, without recourse to the Audit Service Board (ASB). Ofori-Atta directed the ASB to reconstitute the audit committee since the nominees ought to be members of the governing board • 26 Jun - The police arrested 40 people in Accra for not wearing face masks
Event Date Ghana Electricity Expo 10-12 Nov 20 Water Tech exhibition 10-12 Nov 20 Table 2: Key Dates - Operational
General
COVID-19. As of 28 June 2020, Ghana recorded 15 834 COVID-19 cases with 11 755 recoveries and 103 deaths. On 26 June 2020, the Presidential Adviser on Health, Anthony Nsiah Asare, said that most COVID-19 patients are from contact tracing, implying local transmission and community spread. He stated that there was no guaranteed that people who test negative for the virus would in few days not test positive if they come into contact with an infected person. One person infected 533 people with the COVID-19 at a fish factory, accounting for more than a 10th of all cases recorded in the country. The mass infection occurred in Tema (Greater Accra Region), President Akufo-Addo said. The infection spike is a setback to the country that is led African peers in rolling out a mass screening and testing program. The factory closed for a week and was disinfected.
On 1 June 2020, President Akufo-Addo announced the lifting of a raft of restrictions. The non- wearing of face masks in public is now punishable by law per an Executive Instrument, E.I. 164, signed by President Akufo-Addo, on 15 June 2020, including a jail term of between four and 10 years or payment of a fine of between GH¢12,000 and GH¢60,000 or both. The mandatory wearing of face masks will be enforced for a three-month period.
Meanwhile Ghana’s Incas Diagnostics expects the country’s regulator to approve its new COVID-19 antibody test by the end of July, saying its kits could help health authorities ease pandemic restrictions. The company is also working with developers in Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa and Senegal, with backing from the World Health Organisation (WHO), on a mobile app that would help trace people potentially at high-risk of getting the virus. Joseph Bennie, head of the medical device department at Ghana’s Food and Drug Authority said nine companies were seeking its approval for rapid test kits and the process could take four to eight weeks. Incas Diagnostics founder and CEO, Laud Anthony Basing, said he expected its kits to cost about half as much as imported tests as they will be cutting out middlemen by producing them in Ghana. Fed by information from users, its app will show areas in a community where there are vulnerable people who have not been tested for antibodies, people who have anti-bodies and those who are at low, medium and high risk, Basing said. Basing said Incas’ kits, which were developed with funding from the French development [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 29 agency and the Mastercard foundation, could retail for about US$5 but will mostly be donated to help fight the pandemic. He said the firm, which was founded in 2002 in Kumasi and makes pregnancy tests, has a capacity to produce some 50,000 COVID-19 kits a week.
In further developments, a partnership between UK Aid and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) is supporting the Government to use Zipline drones to collect COVID-19 test samples. Together, the UK government and Gavi alongside the Gates Foundation and delivery company UPS Foundation funded Zipline’s drone stations. Often in hard-to-reach areas, these stations allow health experts to safely collect test samples and deliver these to one of Ghana’s testing laboratories. The stations are also used to load the drones with medical supplies to make sure they reach those most in need, as well as health workers supporting communities in rural areas in small community health centres. In addition, about 6.2 million pieces of facemasks have been produced locally as part of government's initiative to revamp local industries through the COVID-19 fight. According to Kyerematen, 58 local companies including Dignity DTRT, Sleek Garments, Cadling Fashions and Alfie Designs Limited, were producing the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Power
Redavia support SMEs. Following the first announcement in April 2020 of offering free solar leases for businesses in Kenya and Ghana, German energy company Redavia announced in June 2020 that it signed four new COVID-19 Resilience Leases in these countries. The company is offering these businesses six months of free solar to withstand the COVID-19 crisis. The beneficiaries in Ghana are the Methodist University College and Emigoh Ghana Ltd, a food manufacturer.
Redavia also signed the first catalytic Energy and Environment Partnership (EEP) with the Nordic Development Fund (NDF). It is a EUR 1.5 million financing from the EEP Africa window, a clean energy financing facility hosted and managed by the NDF. The financing will support the extension of Redavia's commercial and industrial solar energy leasing model to SMEs in Ghana and Kenya. Redavia’s commercial and industrial “solar energy leasing” model is based on the principle that the supplier installs solar power plants on the premises of Ghanaian and Kenyan SMEs at its own expense. In this case, the SMEs are considered as “tenants” of the solar PV systems and thus pay Redavia a monthly maintenance fee. In addition to the extension of Redavia’s “solar energy leasing” in Ghana and Kenya, NDF’s EEP catalyst loan will contribute to the creation of green jobs and green growth through the installation of 1.26 MWp and the production of 1700 MWh/year of clean energy.
Nuclear Power. The Energy Ministry is confident of harnessing at least one gigawatt of power from nuclear sources, as it finalises proposals to be submitted to Cabinet for approval. Officials of the ministry on 12 June 2020 held a meeting with the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, as well as other stakeholders, where an agreement was reached to nearly triple the country’s current, installed power capacity. Ghana has over 4,000 megawatts (MW) of installed electricity generation capacity including renewable sources, though actual availability barely exceeds 2,400 MW due to changing hydrological conditions, inadequate fuel supplies, and poor energy infrastructure.
According to the Communications Director at the Energy Ministry, Nana Damoah, the nuclear energy plan will be laid before Cabinet for approval soon. The latest move is part of attempts by the government to diversify the country’s energy mix, having set up a Nuclear Regulatory Authority to spearhead the implementation of Ghana’s Nuclear Power Programme (NPP). The [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 30 country has passed all 19 infrastructure requirements to be considered for the commencement of an NPP, which is the first of three phases required by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) before the development of a national infrastructure for nuclear power. Despite the progress made to add nuclear power to the existing thermal, hydro, and other renewable sources, it is expected that power from nuclear will be ready after a decade.
Aviation
Domestic Airlines Restart. Domestic airline operators started recording a gradual surge in passenger traffic due to the easing of restrictions on movement to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease COVID-19. Data from the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) indicate that since 1 May 2020 when further relaxation of the restrictions allowed for conferences, workshops, funerals, among other social gatherings, to take place, passenger numbers have been surging. According to the data, passenger throughput from Accra to the two major domestic destinations of Kumasi and Tamale rose from nearly 1,850 travellers per week to almost 2,800 passengers per week by mid-June 2020. However, compared to the period before the country recorded its first COVID-19 case they could carry up to 2,200 passengers per day. The domestic air space is dominated by two operators, Africa World Airlines (AWA) and PassionAir, which carried the passengers 70 and 30%, respectively. The airlines said that they were currently in business just to build confidence. They said that physical distancing on board flights reduced aircraft capacity from 78 to 38 passengers, maximum. As a result, the operators said they had increased their flight frequencies from one daily flight to four return flights per day. The additional flights would enable them to increase their output by up to 20%.
National Airline. Minister of Aviation, Joseph Kofi Adda, said that government is working to ensure the country’s new national airline commences operations concurrently with the global resumption of air operations. He said that he is confident that the airline can be launched by the end of 2020. He said the ministry has identified some partners who are ready to support the initiative with private funds, but government is yet to screen the numbers and choose one of them to be a strategic partner for establishing the national airline. Sources in the sector told the Business and Financial Times (B&FT) that if air-space is not opened to international commercial flights soon, the two major agencies – Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) – will need a bailout from government to survive the third and fourth quarters of the year. The economic challenges the country is facing makes some expert doubt if the national airline will make its way into government’s yet to be announced revised budget.
Roads/Transport
Reconstruction of Agyiringanor Township Roads to Commence. The Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwesi Amoako-Atta, in May 2020 cut the sod for the commencement of 40 kilometres of reconstruction work on the Agyiringanor Township roads, Accra, to ease traffic congestion in that area. The US$ 25 million project involves the construction of culverts and widening of link roads within East Legon in the Ayawaso West Municipality and ARS and Agyiringanor in the Adentan Municipality. It will also see the construction of an overpass at the Block factory to divert traffic from the motorway through Agyiringanor, the Institute of Local Government, the Institute of Professional Studies, the A and C Shopping Mall and the LEKMA Hospital road all of which have roads linking Tema Community 12 and Weija-Gbawe. The project will be executed by Ghana’s Oswal Investment Limited in two-phases within a period of 24 months. [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 31
Construction of Bridge Over the Chemu Lagoon. The Government is to embark on the construction of a concrete bridge over the Chemu Lagoon to connect Ablekuma West and Ablekuma South constituencies in Accra. The Metropolitan Chief Executive of Accra Metro, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, said that the contractor has already secured the site and commenced actual construction in May 2020. He said that upon completion, the bridge will not just be a footbridge but a drive-through bridge connecting to the Dansoman area from Chorkor. The announcement came days after the footbridge constructed by the MP for Ablekuma West, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful in January 2020 to ensure free movement of people from Chorkor to Shiabu was swept away following heavy rain fall in Accra.
Suhum Overpass Commissioned. President Akufo-Addo on 26 June 2020, commissioned the Suhum Overpass on the main Accra-Kumasi Highway, in the Eastern Region. At a short ceremony, the President said the project is part of government’s commitment to complete abandoned projects, especially roads. The Suhum Interchange Project is part of the 31.7 kilometres Kwafokrom – Apedwa Junction Project which is one of the many projects along the Central Corridor designated as National Route 6 (N6) under the Ghana Highway Authority’s Functional Classification of Road. The Suhum dual carriage overpass consists of two bridges carrying a total of four lanes. Works on the project commenced in 2008 and were scheduled for completion by March 2012. Work eventually resumed in June 2017 on the southbound carriageway including the Suhum Flyover after negotiations with the Chinese contractor, China Water and Electric Corporation (CWE) and payment of US$20 million and GH¢40 million of their outstanding arrears. Regular payments were made to the company since 2017 to ensure that the contractor stay at the site and complete the outstanding work. The work on the northern bound carriageway, including 8 footbridges along the corridor were repackaged and awarded to CWE for completion in April 2021.
Projects in Tema. President Akufo-Addo inaugurated the first phase of the newly constructed Tema Motorway Interchange on 5 June 2020, with an assurance that the second phase of the project will commence by the last quarter of 2020. The project, which took 28 months to complete, was financed with a grant of US$56 million from the Japanese government and was undertaken by Shimizu Dai-Nippon, a Japanese construction firm. It comprises a two-tier intersection, a tunnel in the east-west direction, four kilometres of improved roads, four pedestrian bridges, one at each approach to the intersection, and the construction of several drainage structures.
Other projects in Tema, President Akufo-Addo said, included the construction of the 64.4- kilometre Ashaiman Roundabout-Akosombo Junction road at a cost of €256 million, financed by Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW -development bank).
State of Roads in the northern Region. Amoako-Atta, said that a total of 3,312.7 kilometres of road, representing 48.6% in the Northern Region are in poor condition. He said the region has a total road network of 6,834 kilometres out of which 1,318.2 kilometres are in good condition, (19.2%) and 2,204.1 kilometres are considered in fair condition (32.2%). He added that 65 different road projects (916.3 kilometres) are ongoing and at different stages of completion across the Northern Region. Amoako-Atta said government has given the Northern Region its fair share of road infrastructure, adding that within a period of three years, a total of 66 kilometres of roads have been sealed or primer sealed within the Tamale Metropolis and Sagnarigu Municipality in the Region.
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Planned projects in Upper West Region. Government is awarding 36 additional road projects as part of efforts to improve the poor road network in the Upper West Region. These, in addition to the 78 already existing projects, brings the total number of road projects to be delivered in the region to a total of 114. Amoako Atta said in mid-June 2020 the region currently has only 10% (586 kilometres) of its total road network size of 5,798 kilometres paved. Major roads covered by the projects include; the Tumu-Han-Lawra road, Wa-Han road, Fian-Wahabu road, Wa-Bulenga road, Ga-Wechiau road, Wahabu-Funsi-Yala road, Nadowli- Lawra-Hamile road, Wa-Nyoli-Sawla road, Tumu-Hamile road and the Kulun-Ambalara bridge.
New projects in Upper East Region. Amoako Atta said, in June 2020, that the Upper East Region will soon benefit from 24 new road projects constituting 203.6 kilometres. He said that the new projects, which are being funded by the Ghana Road Fund, will commence in two months' time. There are already 52 road projects ongoing in the region. Out of the 24 new projects, the Ghana Highways Authority will be handling 56 kilometres, the Department of Urban roads will be handling 80 kilometres and the Department of Feeder roads will handle 70 kilometres.
Roads and Votes. Residents of Nyamekrom, a suburb of Koforidua in the Eastern Region, called on the government to fix their roads to curb unemployment and armed robbery. According to Enoch Boahene, the assemblyman for the area, most youths in the community are taxi drivers but due to the bad condition of the roads, they have stopped working. He said since there are no jobs for the youth, some have resorted to robbery.
Residents in eight communities, Manhean, Oduman, Afuaman, Peace Village, Ablekuma Abaase, Joman, Borkorborkor and Nsakina, in the Ga West Municipal Assembly (GWMA), Greater Accra Region, the current administration has turned a blind eye to their deplorable roads. The youth in these areas warned there will be no voting in the area if the roads are not repaired.
Road Accident Statistics. The National Road Safety Authority said Ghana recorded a 14% reduction in road traffic deaths between January and May 2020. Compared to the same period in 2019, it represents a reduction in cases reported, vehicles involved, pedestrian knockdowns, fatalities and injuries by 5.22%, 2.54%, 25.27%, 14.49% and 3.47% respectively. There were 5,465 accidents involving 9,163 vehicles. This resulted in 958 incidents of pedestrian knockdowns, 909 fatalities, and 5,703 injuries. However, there was a 12.64% increase in fatalities involving motorcycle users over the period.
Rail
Western Railway Line Construction on The Cards. Ghana and Amandi Holdings Limited signed a US$560 million agreement for the construction of sections of the Western Railway Line (Standard Gauge Line) between Takoradi Harbour and the Huni Valley. The signing ceremony took place in June 2020. The Project, which is the biggest single railway contract ever in the history of Ghana, would take 42 months to complete from the date of commencement (October 2020). It consists of the construction of the Western Railway Line, Standard Gauge, between Takoradi Port and Huni Valley forming a total of 102km of continuous single track railway line, with stations along the tracks, an initial workshop facility at a location to be specified by the Employer, and an initial complement of rolling stock. The Minister of Railway Development, Joe Ghartey, said construction would include the construction of a by-pass section along the Kojokrom to Manso section of the Western Railway Line at Eshiem. Ghartey said the construction of the Railway Line from Manso to Huni Valley approximately 60km of [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 33 single track lines, and in addition the construction of eight basic stations along the existing line from Amantin to Huni Valley including all construction works, station building, access roads, CCTV and access control, backup generator and water tanks. Supply of rolling stock including two 3,500HP cargo locomotives, and 64 mineral wagons to support the initial operations of the new standard gauge infrastructure and supply of standard gauge track maintenance equipment. Eight kilometres of rail line within the Takoradi Port will also be constructed.
Ghartey also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TransTech, for the development of sections of the Western Rail Line from Huni Valley to Obuasi and from Dunkwa to Awaso. According to him, the contract with TransTech is for the development of 183 kilometers of the line from Huni Valley to Obuasi on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.
Chinese Deal for Locomotives. Ghana signed a contract agreement with China’s Dongfang Electric International Corporation for the supply of locomotives and rolling stock, which makes up a total of 35 standard gauge trains for passenger and freight services. The quantities and categories of rolling stock which would be delivered include nine passenger locomotives with capacity of 4500hp and 160km/hr speed and15 freight locomotives with capacity of 4500hp and 100km/hr speed. It will also include 11 shunting locomotives with capacity of 1000hp, 48 passenger coaches and 330 wagons made up of 230 box wagons and 100 flat wagons. In the first phase, Ghana is expected to take delivery of two trains within 12 months with an additional seven trains within the following six months bring the total to nine trains in the first phase. The remaining twenty-six trains would be delivered in the second phase within 18 months from a date to be agreed by the parties. Total value of the standard gauge trains is estimated at US$243,600,000.
Railway Line Washed Away. Portions of the Achimota-Abofo section of the Accra-Nsawam rail line railway were washed away by floods. The line was recently laid by the Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL). GRCL however refuted claims that the railway line is a new construction by the Akufo-Addo government. According to the company, the project that was carried out on the narrow-gauge line was a rehabilitation of the rail line. During the maiden trial in January 2019, the engineers discovered portions of the track formation bed between Amasaman and Kotoku had been compromised as a result of illegal sand mining activities and encroachers along the Pokuase section also diverted their wastewater onto the railway line. The project was finally completed in November 2019 and a joint inspection of the rail line was conducted by the GRCL and the Ghana Railway Development Authority to determine the suitability of the track for operations.
Construction of The Tema To Mpakandan Rail line To Resume. President Akufo-Addo, on 4 June 2020, on the advice of the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service (GHS), directed AFCONS, the company constructing the rail line from Tema to Mpakandan in the Asuogyaman District, to resume work immediately. All the 82 workers of the company who tested positive for COVID-19 recovered. The workers, mostly Indian supervisors, had to quarantine themselves, leading to the suspension of work for more than 11 weeks. The Eastern Regional Minister, Eric Kwakye Darfour, communicated the President’s directive to the company. Darfour said the railway line cost the country US$398 million. He noted that the work, which was supposed to be completed within a year, was going to be delayed for almost six months due to the three-month break and the onset of the rainy season.
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Water
Water Sector. The delivery of water is dependent on multiple organisations with overlaps and unclear roles in some cases, particularly in the rural water subsector where provision is more diverse. The Ghana Water Company is solely responsible for the management of urban water services as it owns and manages all 90 urban water systems, supported by 15 administrative regions across the country. It has a customer base of over 700,000 households with tap connections. The company has a well-regulated tariff regime, a comprehensive billing system, and a procedure for payment.
However, in rural and small towns there are 28,473 boreholes, 3,993 hand-dug wells, 126 small community pipe schemes, 381 small town pipe schemes, and 526 limited mechanised systems under different management models. These figures demonstrate a fragmented patchwork, coupled with incomplete and inconsistent data on who is producing what, when, how, and where. Under ongoing rural water utility management reforms, 182 of the rural and small-town water systems are under the direct management of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency. The majority are under local government oversight, who have delegated management responsibilities to water and sanitation management teams and private contractors. The tariff regime is fragmented because each of the 260 district assemblies sets its own arrangements. Some of the 460 water systems under NGO and private sector arrangements are even outside the local government management and their operations are unregulated. In addition, local governments are politically answerable to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development. The Community Water and Sanitation Agency on the other hand falls under the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources.
Water Cooperation. On 24 June 2020, Ghana became the 3rd African country (44th Party) to accede to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Trans boundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention), serviced by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the 37th Party to the Convention on the Law of the Non- Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (Watercourses Convention). Ghana’s transboundary river basins, namely the Volta River basin (shared with Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Togo; Bia and Tano Rivers (shared with Côte d’Ivoire); and the Todzie- Aka basin (shared with Togo), cover over 75% of the country’s land surface and generate around 80% of freshwater flow. These shared water resources provide water for drinking, sanitation, agriculture (which accounts for between 54 and 85% of employment in Volta basin countries), hydropower, and industrial needs. The basins link the populations across borders, creating socioeconomic interdependencies between the riparian countries.
Trans boundary cooperation in these shared basins is therefore critical to ensure sustainable development and preserve regional stability, especially in the context of rising water stress linked to climate change; and to ensure access to safe water and sanitation, which is vital for hygiene in the face of COVID-19.
UN-Habitat Water Support. UN-Habitat is providing three communities in Accra with facilities for handwashing to assist the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 The current COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impact on slums and informal settlements in Ghana especially in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area of Ghana where the poor and most vulnerable live. Overall only half of all households in Ghana have access to handwashing facilities with water and soap. The UN-Habitat project directly benefits 280,00 people in the informal settlements of Gamashie, Amui Djor-Ashaiman and Sabon Zongo. Ten handwashing facilities for communal areas, four large water storage tanks, 185 handwashing facilities inside poor households, 4 [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 35
000 masks, 3 720 bottles of sanitiser and 600 large containers of liquid soap are being provided for all three communities. In addition, four standpipes for communal use are being installed in Gamashie. This has created employment for 50 women who made masks, liquid soap and hand sanitizers. Some 50 youth have been employed as plumbers for the installation of the handwashing stations.
Tono Drinking Water Project. Work on the drinking water project in Tono, a town in the Kassena-Nankana district of the Upper East Region, is expected to be fully completed by July 2021. The entire facility will provide 20,500 m³ of water per day. They will be handed over to the Ghana Water Company. According to Annalies De Beule, the coordinator of the Tono drinking water project, the project will serve more than 200,000 people in the localities of Navrongo, Bolgatanga and Paga with good quality water, mainly for domestic use, over a period from 2021 to 2040. The implementation of the Tono drinking water project will require an investment of US$42 million. The financing is provided by the Ghanaian government with a loan from the Internationale Nederlanden Groep (ING) of Belgium, an international financial institution of bank-insurance of Dutch origin. The project is also supported by the Dutch government.
Ports
Keta Port Project. The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) commissioned a team of consultants led by the German firm M/s Sellhorn Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH from Hamburg, to construct a new port at Keta in the Volta Region. The other consultants are ProTeln Service GmbH, PSP Architekten, Ingenieure and a Ghanaian team from Yogarib Engineering Services Limited. The consultant is expected to deliver a full feasibility study and master plan, including development and investment strategy for the Port of Keta within seven months. At the virtual signing ceremony, the Director General of GPHA, Michael Luguje, acknowledged the limitations imposed on all parties in the face of the global pandemic.
ICUMS Operational. The newly deployed Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) generated GH¢490 million in its first 17 days of operation. The system went live on 1 June 2020. This compares favorably with the average monthly revenue collections of about GH¢942 million monthly from January to May 2020 from the country's entry points when the old system deployed by the Ghana Community Network (CGNet) was in use. This is in spite of challenges that beset the system in its first weeks of operation at the port after taking over from West Blue and the Ghana Community Network (CGNet) customs management systems. The Acting Commissioner General, of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, said that the state is not losing any revenue at the country's entry points as ICUMS, which is the name of the Ghana version of South Korea’s Customs e-Clearing System (UNI-PASS), is working well. For importers still experiencing challenges, Owusu-Amoah, said alternative arrangements have been made. He also stated that ICUMS has successfully processed about 53,000 Bills of Entry (BoE) nationwide. Some 16,000 BoE have been submitted at the Tema Port, with over 12,000 relating to pre-manifest processes. Freight forwarders are however concerned about delays in clearing goods at the ports due to challenges in accessing the ICUMS. They said the delays, which had also resulted in mounting rent and demurrage charges to importers, could lead to congestion at the ports.
Telecommunication/ICT
Data Sharing with Government. Vodafone and MTN’s Ghanaian units are allowed to share subscriber data with the government to help it track down the contacts of coronavirus cases, [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 36 a high court in Accra ruled on 23 June 2020. It would go against citizens’ “overall wellbeing” for the court to stop telecommunications providers from sharing data with authorities amid a pandemic, Justice Stephen Oppong said in his decision. A private citizen had filed an injunction order asking the country’s two biggest operators to suspend data-sharing with the government, saying it breached domestic and international privacy laws. “The purpose of the collection of the data is for the protection of the whole state of Ghana,” Oppong said. “Even the applicant benefits” from that effort, he said.
MainOne Begins Construction of Data Centre. West African data centre solution provider MainOne commenced construction activities on its data centre project in Appolonia City, Ghana. The facility is planned to be built and operated in accordance with the same operational standards currently maintained at MainOne and West Africa’s largest data centre, MDXi Lagos, in Nigeria. The facility will feature private colocation whitespace, enterprise- grade 24×7 multi-level security and video surveillance, precision cooling, safety and fire suppression systems with multiple redundancies built into the power, cooling and security infrastructure. It will be operated as a carrier neutral facility with connectivity options to the MainOne submarine cable system, global network and partners, as well as a host of other international connectivity cable systems and networks. The data centre is set to offer open access connectivity options to all Mobile Network Operator (MNO), Internet Service Providers (ISPs), corporate and public sector customers in Ghana as well as access to various Internet Exchanges including the GIX (Ghana), IXPN (Nigeria), LINX (London), DECIX (Frankfurt/Lisbon), and Cote d’Ivoire Internet Exchange (CIVIX), and the West Africa Internet Exchange (WAF-IX), hosted by MainOne in Nigeria. The project, which was initially scheduled for completion in December 2020, will now be ready for services at the end of Q1, 2021 due to the delays caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Technology University Bill Passed. A bill aimed at providing a legal framework for the establishment of a public communication technology university in Ghana was passed in mid- June 2020. MPs unanimously approved the Ghana Communication Technology University Bill, 2020 which will allow the Government to take over the Ghana Technology University College (GTUC). The bill, when assented to, would re-position the GTUC as a viable centre for higher education in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the country. At the second reading stage of the bill, the Speaker of Parliament, Mike Oquaye, said the university should not simply be an addition to awarding public tertiary institutions but must provide practical training in ICT for the development of the country. The Committee observed that GTUC, since its establishment in 2006, has been at the forefront of providing long- and short-term education and training in information and communication technology albeit without the requisite legal regulatory framework governing its operations.
Small Scale/Illegal Mining
Galamsey Violence. One person died at Patrensa in the Asante-Akim Central municipality in the Ashanti Region on 24 June 2020, when military personnel deployed to protect the concession of Owere Mines clashed with small-scale miners (Galamsey). The miners were believed to have illegally entered the concession of Owere Mines. Six small-scale miners were wounded. The soldiers and the mining firm’s security detail who chased out the illegal miners, were reportedly attacked on their return as the miners blocked the Agogo/Patrensa motor road, burning tyres and shooting at the soldiers. The large crowd also pelted stones at the security personnel destroying their Toyota Hilux vehicle.
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Meanwhile hundreds of the small-scale miners protested in the streets of Konongo, on 25 June 2020, to register their displeasure about what they described as “a needless attack” on them. Two soldiers, who were guarding a generator, were also attacked and their vehicles destroyed. Kwame Dompreh, one of the leaders of the small scale miners said that they had engaged the management of the company, which had ceased operations for some time now, to allocate portions of their concession to the youth in the area who had organised themselves into groups, to undertake small scale mining. He said since the company was ignoring them, they decided to do prospecting at Patrensa, which is outside the concession of the company.
The Ashanti Regional Police Command, on 13 May 2020, arrested 14 people, posing as a task force from the Minerals Commission, who attacked illegal miners, killing one. The group has allegedly been terrorising and extorting money and gold from artisanal miners in Ntobroso in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region for a long time.
Galamsey Threatening the Economy. The CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Joseph Boahen Aidoo, called on the security services to scale up their operations in clamping down on illegal small-scale miners (galamseyers). He said that galamseyers are destroying cocoa farms at an increased rate. He said the activities of these miners are destroying the backbone of the Ghanaian economy, a situation that could have dire consequences the country’s finances.
Officials of the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) served notice on Galamsey operators at Denkyira Brofoyedru in the Central Region, to desist from mining activities close to the power transmission towers. Activities of Galamsey miners have become a menace to power supply in localities in the Central and Western North Regions due to the proximity of their activities to GRIDCo’s transmission towers, the company said. It is threatening reliability of power supply to Bibiani, Juaboso, Dunkwa, Sefwi Wiawso and its environs as well as the mining companies operating in these areas.
Minister Accuses DCE And Police Commander of Collusion with Galamsey. The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, questioned the credibility of the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Suaman, Christian Baah, and the District Police Commander, Theophilus Boateng, as far as protecting the State’s interest against illegal mining is concerned. According to Asomah-Cheremeh, the DCE and the police commander “conspicuously failed” to ensure the protection of nine excavators seized from illegal miners in the area. He said that in March 2020, the excavators were seized at an illegal mining site located at Tugakrom in the Suaman District, Western North Region. He said the excavators were placed in the custody of the DCE and the Police Commander for Suaman, adding that when he returned some days later, there were police officers with AK47 guarding the excavators, but major parts were missing. Asomah-Cheremeh said that when he returned to Suaman on 9 June 2020, eight of the seized excavators were on illegal mining sites at Tugakrom.
Health
88 Hospitals. Despite criticisms that greeted President Akufo-Addo’s promise to construct 88 new district hospitals across the country, he insisted that the project will commence in July 2020 and it is expected to last for one year. The government’s plan is to also rehabilitate the Effia Nkwanta Hospital, in Sekondi, which is the regional hospital of the Western Region. The standard 100-bed facilities which will be in districts without hospitals will also have accommodation for staff. Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman Manu said the government is still [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 38 in the process of finalising the cost of the facilities, but the president is optimistic it will go according to schedule. To pave way for the construction of the hospitals, Local Government and Rural Development Minister, Hajia Alima Mahama, directed the various district assemblies without hospitals to identify and release a minimum of 15 acres of land for the projects.
New-born Care Unit for Tamale West Hospital. Work commenced on the construction of a Newborn Care Unit for the Tamale West Hospital in the Northern Region in late June 2020. The project, being constructed by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) with support from the Italian National Committee is expected to be completed in six months. Performing the sod-cutting ceremony, the Chief of Field at the Tamale office of UNICEF, Margaret Gwada, said the project was to improve the quality of care for mothers and babies in critical conditions in the area, especially during this pandemic.
Government Inspects Workplaces. Government is embarking on a nationwide random inspection of offices, shops and factories as coronavirus infections keep rising at workplaces. The exercise to be carried out by the Ministry of Ministry of Employment and Labour from 1 July 2020 is to ensure strict compliance with and enforcement of all COVID-19 protocols and guidelines by government. The team will inspect response plans indicating the institutions’ preparedness for COVID-19 prevention and evaluate mechanisms for COVID-19 prevention. It will also conduct risk assessment of potential interaction between workers and non-workers at the workplace and train management and workers on the correct use, maintenance and disposal of protective gears.
Natural Hazards
Earth Tremor. Some parts of Accra were hit by an earth tremor on 24 June 2020. Affected areas include Dzorwulu, Lapaz, Weija, Achimota, Gbawe, Madina, Tema, among others. Ghana experienced two earth tremors in 2019 and one in 2018. These tremors were also recorded in Accra. According to the United States Geological Survey the quake reached magnitude 4.0 which makes it one of the strongest earthquakes in Ghana in years. The epicentre was located in the western part of the city. Two minor aftershocks were felt by residents a few minutes after the mainshock.
Flood Damage. For the umpteenth time, parts of Accra were submerged following a downpour which lasted about four hours on 10 June 2020. Properties worth several millions of cedis were destroyed, while one person was reported dead at Adabraka in Accra. The situation culminated into heavy traffic jams in most areas.
Dam Spillage. The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in early June 2020 began spilling excess water to prevent a collapse of the Weija Dam (Greater Accra Region) as the water levels continue to exceed its capacity. As a result of the spillage properties, including houses farmlands, and pathways were submerged in flood waters. Some residents, badly affected by the flood waters, relocated. The Public Relations Officer of the Company, Stanley Martey, said that the water level of the Weija Dam had risen from 37ft to 48.3ft over its safe operating level of 47ft, prompting a spillage. The GWCL alerted the public about its plan to spill excess water.
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Corruption/Fraud/Embezzlement/Mismanagement
Airbus Again. Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said in February 2020 that Airbus paid bribes of €3.85 million out of a promised €5 million in Ghana relating to the purchase of three C259 aircrafts. The SFO amongst others said that a number of Airbus employees made or promised success-based commission payments of approximately €5 million to Intermediary 5,” who is said to be “a close relative of a high-ranking elected Ghanaian Government official (Government Official 1).” The NPP identified “Intermediary 5” as Samuel Mahama, “the long- lost brother” of former President John Mahama.
In mid-May 2020, the British Sun newspaper alleged that former President Mahama was complicit in the bribery scandal. The Sun also reported that an international arrest warrant has been issued by Ghanaian authorities for the arrest of four people, including Mahama's brother, who acted as alleged middlemen, for questioning. The Sun reported that Mahama allegedly had links with the middlemen who facilitated the payments of bribes to key government officials when he was Vice President. Former British Actor, Phil Middlemiss, is alleged to be a key member of the corrupt network. Middlemiss, a close friend of Mahama's brother, is said to have temporarily relocated to Ghana to play his middleman role with his team for the sale of the military aircraft.
The Ghana Police Service (GPS) declared Middlemiss wanted over the role he played in the alleged bribery. According to the Sun, after starring in the ITV Soap, Middlemiss reportedly headed to Ghana to start making a film. He then claims to have befriended the brother of the country’s former vice-president, before heading back to the UK. Middlemiss lives in a £400,000 detached property in Greater Manchester, reports The Sun, despite him being declared bankrupt in 2012 over unpaid tax. Documents from Ghana’s special prosecutor Amidu reveal that Middlemiss could have been a project manager for Airbus, which sold the planes, when the alleged bribery took place. It is also alleged that he incorporated a company in the UK in 2010 through which he assisted Airbus with the suspect deal.
A public notice by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) said: "Samuel Adam Foster a. k. a. Samuel Adam Mahama a UK/Ghanaian citizen, and the three other UK nationals: Philip Sean Middlemiss, Leanne Sarah Davis and Sarah Furneaux are invited to assist the Office of the Special Prosecutor in the on-going investigation of bribery and corruption”. Sarah Furneaux is a Director with Samuel Mahama, who is her partner or spouse in Furneaux Aviation Limited since 13 February 2013 and now known as Furneaux Limited. They were engaged in the second campaign to sell the third aircraft to the Government of Ghana acting as fronts for Ghanaian elected public official or officials. Leanne Sarah Davis became a Director and shareholder with, her partner or spouse Philip Middlemiss of Deedum Limited (UK) after Samuel Mahama ceased his Directorship.
On 21 June 2020, the former president for the first time reacted to the airbus scandal. He said that he remained silent because some ex- government officials and members of his staff had already reacted to the matter. Mahama accused the current NPP administration of not being interested in the issue as a matter of good faith but seeking to dredge up the matter for selfish political interests. Asked if the OSP had reached out to him on its investigations, Mahama answered in the negative. To him, the Airbus saga was an issue between the parent company and its representatives who were found to be in breach of the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD) rules. Thus, for anyone to seek to attempt to rope him or any other government official in the saga, is simply a gross misrepresentation of facts and spread of deliberate falsehoods. [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 40
Mahama further denied reports that he benefitted financially from the purchase of the aircraft. Mahama said due diligence was followed in the purchase of the two aircraft. Mahama said all decisions for the acquisition were conducted by a very competent team at the military headquarters. Mahama also stated that since the NPP has made the issue of corruption a major item of debate in the lead-up to the 2020 elections, he was ready to take on President Akufo-Addo on his own record of corruption.
CHRAJ exonerates Mahama. The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) threw out a case of alleged vote-buying and corruption against Mahama in June 2020. The Commission was petitioned by Truth and Accountability Forum, a group affiliated to the NPP. The complainants claimed that ahead of the NDC presidential primaries in 2019, Mahama presented some 40 vehicles to the party. This act, according to the Forum impacted the results of the election, which he won. They also requested that the Commission investigate the source of the funding for the vehicles donated to the party. But the Commission dismissed the complainant’s petition, indicating that it was without merit.
The Truth and Accountability Forum served notice that it will now proceed to court over the vote-buying and corruption allegations. Responding to the ruling, Convenor of the Group, Saka Salia, stated that they completely disagree with the ruling of the CHRAJ. According to him, they are in consultations with their lawyer adding that “there are several options available,” including going to court to seek redress.
Request to Investigate COVID-19 Spending. The NDC called on the Auditor General, Daniel Domelevo, to undertake a special audit of GH¢280.3 million that has been allocated by the government for the provision of food, water and sanitation under the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP). The NDC’s Member of the Finance Committee of Parliament, Cassiel Ato Forson, said such an audit is important in view of the “unprecedented levels of profligacy, waste and corruption Ghanaians have witnessed under the Akufo-Addo government in the last three and a half years.” Forson said that on8 April 2020, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, presented to the Finance Committee, the government’s CAP in which he indicated that the government was going to spend GH¢1.2 billion to alleviate the socio-economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. According to him, the breakdown of the GH¢1.2 billion included an allocation of GH¢40 million for the provision of food packages and hot meals, and an allocation of GH¢40 million to the Ghana Buffer Stock Company for the provision of dry food to support vulnerable communities in lockdown areas. A further GH¢200 million was allocated for the provision of water and sanitation, including the mobilisation of all publicly and privately owned water tankers to ensure the supply of water to all vulnerable communities.
Mining Sector Corruption. To promote transparency and reduce corruption risks associated with the awarding of mining licenses and permits, face-to-face processing must be replaced with digitisation, a new report by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local chapter of Transparency International, recommended. Titled “Corruption Risk Assessment Report on Mineral Mining Licensing in Ghana,” the report said mining is an important economic activity in the country contributing an estimated 6% to GDP, 26% to government revenue, and 40% to total merchandise export earnings over the last 10 years. The mining sector’s total fiscal contribution in 2019 was 7.7% of domestic revenue, the second highest contributor behind the financial and insurance sectors.
However, the report adds, despite the great potential of the sector, its contribution towards the national economy and sustainable development as a whole has fallen below expectation [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 41 over the years. Poor mineral sector governance and corrupt practices along the value chain have been noted as key obstacle to the performance of the mining sector. The study identified 17 vulnerabilities to corruption. Out of the 17 vulnerabilities 6 came from political factors, 3 from economic factors, 6 from social factors, and 2 from technological factors. Based on the list of vulnerabilities, the study identified and assessed 19 risks to corruption. Out of the 19 risks 6 were from CF, 2 from PD, 7 from PP and 4 from CC. On a scale of 1-5; the impact score for 11 out of the 19 identified risks to corruption was 5 (disastrous and systemic); the impact score for 6 risks was 4 (very high); and the impact score for 2 risks was 2 (low). On a scale of 1-5; the likelihood score for 14 out of the 19 identified risks to corruption was 5 (certainty of occurrence) and the likelihood score for 5 risks was 4 (very high).
Many government agencies (Parliament, Minister, Minerals Commission, EPA, Water Resources Commission, Chief Inspector of Mines, District Assembly, Traditional Authority, Lands Commission, Ghana Publishing Company, and the Print Media), are involved directly or indirectly in the processing of applications for gold mining rights in Ghana. The long list of actors in the license application chain could cause delay and generate incentive for extortion by some of the actors, with the ultimate effect of creating a disincentive for doing business in Ghana's mining sector. Some applicants interviewed during the research, reported that, they have had to make offers to some officials to fast track their application from one authority to the other. Community leaders regularly use their gatekeeper role to pursue their own interests at the expense of the larger community interest and rights. There are examples of instances when chiefs/landowners have become contractors and sub-contractors to license holders. Community members have no opportunity of holding the gatekeepers (chiefs and landlords) to account.
Request to Investigate Ministry of Gender. The Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has been petitioned to investigate unsubstantiated payments at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection. Petitioning the Special Prosecutor is a pro-NDC pressure group, Strategic Thinkers Network (STRANEK). According to the organization, in a petition signed by its Executive Director, Nii Tettey Tetteh, the Ministry has been indicted by the Auditor General for failure to substantiate certain payments with the relevant payment vouchers and those deserve to be probed. On 20 June 2019, the Auditor General published a report titled “The Public Accounts of Ghana, Ministries, Departments and Other Agencies-MDAs for the Financial Year Ended 31st December 2018.” The Report indicated that after a review of payment records of the Ministry of Gender Children & Social Protection, six payments totalling GH¢1,556,691.00 and US$266,660.00 have been made by the Ministry, but requests for the relevant payment vouchers to substantiate the expenditure incurred have proven futile, according to the petition.
Health Corruption. Research conducted by the Northern Sector Action on Awareness Centre (NORSAAC), a Civil Society Organisation (CSO), found that healthcare service providers in public facilities mostly charge illegal fees to serve clients. The research, which was conducted under the coalition name People’s Actions Against Corruption (PAAC) found that 97% of patients and 96% of healthcare workers sampled for the study indicated that petty corruption was widespread within the healthcare delivery system and 67% of patients and 62% of healthcare workers agreed that petty corruption is accepted as normal in the delivery of health care. The research, titled: “Petty Corruption in Public Healthcare Delivery,” was conducted in 24 health facilities within 13 districts in the Northern, Upper East, and Upper West regions. It focused on measuring the perception of patients and healthcare providers about petty corrupt practices in public health facilities and investigated the effects of such acts on the delivery of basic quality healthcare services. [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 42
Issah Aminu Danaa, the Monitoring and Evaluation Manager at NORSAAC, said about 66% of patients sampled had experienced informal payments in health facilities. The majority said they paid for services, which were covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), paid before they could secure a hospital bed and made payments for services without being given official receipts for such transactions.
Reputational
Global Peace Index (GPI). Ghana has been ranked as the third most peaceful African country and the 43rd most peaceful country in the world by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in its Global Peace Index (GPI), published in June 2020. The IEP ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness. Ghana moved up one place from the 2019 GPI and is now behind only Mauritius (1st) and Botswana (2nd) in sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, South Sudan remains the least peaceful country in sub-Saharan Africa. The GPI measures the state of peace across three domains: the level of societal safety and security; the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict; and the degree of militarisation.
World Press Freedom Index. Ghana is ranked 30 out of 180 countries (1=best; 180=worst) on the 2020 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), down from 27in 2019.
Media Freedom. Afrobarometer survey data shows that popular support for media freedom in Ghana has increased sharply, bouncing back to the majority view after a decline recorded in 2017. A majority of Ghanaians say the country’s media is “somewhat free” or “completely free” of government censorship and interference. Comparing preliminary 2019 data from eight African countries, Ghana records the second-highest perceived supply of media freedom. Seven in 10 Ghanaians (72%) say the media is “somewhat free” or “completely free” to report or comment on news without government censorship or interference. Only two in 10 (19%) think the media is “not very free” or “not at all free” to do so, the second-lowest perception of media censorship or interference among eight countries surveyed in 2019. Two- thirds of Ghanaians (65%) say the media should have the right to publish any views and ideas without government restrictions, a 29-percentage-point increase after a sharp dip to 36% in the 2017 survey.
Bureaucracy
Ban on Car imports. Ghana banned the importation of cars older than 10 years to encourage international companies including Volkswagen AG and Nissan Motor Co. to set up local plants in the country. The new law also provides import-duty rebates for companies that manufacture or assemble cars in Ghana, according to an act of parliament. The embargo will take effect six months after the manufacturing or assembling of new vehicles in Ghana begin under a special government program meant to draw investment. Volkswagen, Nissan, Toyota Motor Corp., Suzuki Motor Corp. and Renault SA are among automakers weighing the local assembly of vehicles in a country where used cars make up about 70% of vehicle imports. Ghana is seeking to become a car-manufacturing hub for West Africa, a region with more than 380 million people. The import restrictions could cost the government as much as US$143 million in customs revenue in the first three years after implementation, according to parliamentary documents. Used-car sellers offer more affordable deals in a country where auto loans are rare. The law also bans the importation of cars which have been involved in [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 43 accidents, which dealers bring in and repair to provide even cheaper options to consumers. The ban on these will take effect from October 2020, regardless of their date of manufacture.
“Beyond the Return.” The Minister of Tourism Arts and Culture, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, inaugurated the “Beyond the Return” Steering Committee in May 2020 to kick start the 10- year project. The Steering Committee has institutional representation from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture; Ghana Tourism Authority; Office of Diaspora Affairs; Panafest Foundation; African American Association of Ghana; Ministry of National Security; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ghana Police Service; Ghana Investment Promotion Centre; and Ghana Immigration Service. The “Beyond the Return”- a decade of African Renaissance (2020-2030), is the follow up to the “Year of Return” Ghana 2019 project. The Project positioned Ghana as the preferred destination for the African Diaspora and provided a boost to tourism. Oteng- Gyasi said, “Beyond the Return” sought to consolidate the gains from the “Year of Return” and grow Ghana‘s tourism, showcase its investment potential and solidify its Diaspora engagement programmes over a decade.
Labour Militancy
SLC And MLC Staff Want Severance Packages. Former staff of collapsed Savings and Loans Companies (SLCs) and Microfinance Companies (MFCs), appealed to government to expedite action on the payment of their severance packages. The BoG on 31 May 2019 and 16 August 2019, revoked the licenses of some SLCs and MFCs, placed them under Receivership and appointed Eric Nana Nipah as Receiver. Subsequent to that, Nipah gave all ex-staff of the affected institutions a temporary Contract of Employment for three and half months, ending November 2019. At the expiry of the contract, 99% of staff’s employment was terminated. The Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU), and some ex-staff represented by their lawyers led negotiations with the receiver’s appointed labour consultant Austin Gamey for which a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed in December 2019. The former staff now wants the government to see to it that their severance packages are paid out. They said in a statement that their living conditions have been worsened by the hardships occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. They pointed out that over the past seven months there are some households which have not received any form of income to support their families as a result of both husband and wife being ex-staff of the companies under receivership. The BoG in 2019 revoked the licences of 347 microfinance companies and 23 savings and loans companies. Over 6000 people had directly lost their jobs since 2017 due to the BoG’s clean-up of the banking and specialised deposit-taking and non-banking financial institutions sectors.
Port Workers Call Off Strike. After three days of strike action, workers at Tema Port h finally called off their industrial action on 18 June 2020 and allowed vessels in anchorage to berth at the port. This was as a result of a directive by the Office of the President, instructing the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to reverse its decision to take away refrigerated (reefer) cargo containers from being handled by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA). Following the intervention by the President, the workers who had restrained six vessels in anchorage from berthing at any terminal at Tema Port, gave the Marine Operations Unit at the port the go-ahead to pilot the vessels to their designated terminals. Similarly, some containerised vessels, were berthed at the Meridian Port Services (MPS) facility.
Freight Forwarders Protest. Freight forwarders on 8 May 2020 picketed at the Takoradi Port over the failure of UNI-PASS system to facilitate the smooth clearance of goods. The Freight forwarders said that the UNIPASS system has so many technical problems that it continued to waste turnaround time. The Freight Forwarders pitched camp at the Customs Office of the [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 44
GRA to register their displeasure. On 1 June freight forwarders at Tema Port also protested against delays in the processing of documents to clear goods from the port due to problems with UNIPASS. They demanded that the operating systems of the former service provider, the Ghana Community Network Services (GCNet). Police on 5 May 2020 arrested 13 people in connection with an unauthorised demonstration in Accra’s suburb of Nima to demonstrate against the UNIPASS customs deal. The demonstrators appeared to have been hired by Westblue one the two companies whose trade facilitation contract was abrogated and replaced with UNIPASS. They wielded placards some of which read “Zongo United for West Blue,” “Decline West Blue Is Attack on Womanhood.” Members of the Coalition protested because the government terminated West Blue’s contract which is owned by a Ghanaian woman in favour of UNIPASS which is a South Korean company. Among the persons arrested were the National Chairperson of the Coalition of National Zongo Political Groupings, Alhaji Yahaya Alhassan, two journalists and two soldiers. The journalists were later granted bail while the military police took over the case of the two soldiers.
Note: Implementation of the pilot UNIPASS Single Window Project commenced on 28 February 2020. However, the system failed to deliver and started to cause disruptions in the trade facilitation chain. The inefficiency has compelled the re-adaptation of the manual system of clearing goods, a process considered obsolete and abandoned close to two decades ago by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Health Workers Threatened to Strike. Health workers at the Pantang Hospital threatened to go on strike if their concerns over encroachment on the hospital’s property by land guards are not addressed. The workers held a one-day sit-in on 11 June saying their lives are at risk as a result of the activities of land guards. The spokesperson for the Joint Union Executives at Pantang Hospital, Elvis Akuamoah, said the hospital is not safe for health workers and patients anymore, adding that they have been complaining about the situation for three now. The workers have in the past engaged the Ghana Mental Authority, the Ministry of Health, the Lands Commission, the Municipal Directorate, the Adenta Police Station, the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council for some form of intervention but to no avail.
COVID-19 Instructions to Businesses. The government issued a directive to factories/enterprises to stop their employees with mild cough from coming to work and seek medical attention immediately. These industries and factories, according to the government guidelines announced by Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen, on 25 June 2020, must dedicate one room within the factory premises as a holding room to immediately house or quarantine anyone who is suspected to be showing symptoms and signs of COVID-19 and be isolated from others while making arrangements for evacuation. The measures, Kyerematen noted, feed into the general guidelines and protocols for easing of restrictions such as the use of face masks by all employees, provision of washing stations at vantage points within working areas and regular cleaning and disinfection of surfaces. Factories/enterprises with more than 29 employees must provide a registered nurse on site. Employers must also engage the services of experts to provide psychological and emotional support for COVID-19 positive employees and their families. If a person is confirmed positive for COVID-19, the workplace COVID-19 taskforce must link up with the local health authorities to ensure all contacts are traced, tested, and treated.
Environmental Activism/Legislation
Kakum National Park Losses Revenue. The Kakum National Park has lost in excess of GH¢400,000 in revenue due to the Coronavirus outbreak, which culminated in its closure, the [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 45
Heritage Conservation Trust (GHCT), managers of the facility, said. Michael Amonoo, the Marketing Officer for the GHCT said the situation affected the organisation's liquidity, while the cost of maintenance increased over the period. Amonoo said the GHCT had to cancel all its scheduled visits largely by foreigners, which was the main source of revenue for the facility. Located just 30km north of Cape Coast, Central Region, Kakum National Park, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) acclaimed World Heritage site, is one of Ghana's most famous parks consisting of undisturbed pristine forest with Africa's only rainforest canopy walkway. Amonoo said the closure affected other interdependent activities including hotels, restaurants, traders and communities that derive its livelihood from the facility.
[GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 46
Security
Risk Factor Level Trend Security Moderate Stable
May - June 2020 Headlines
• 2 May - Communal militias from Yagaba and Kubori marched to Gordi (Mamprugo Moaduri, North East Region) and attacked Fulani settlers to retaliate against an attack on a farmer • 2 May - Two fetish priests and a taxi driver were arrested in a joint security operation, carried out by police and military personnel from Accra, for allegedly killing six people at their shrine. Four headless bodies were retrieved • 6 May - A land developer was attacked by about 60 unidentified gunmen at his property in Dodowa (Greater Accra). His car was destroyed. The attack is believed to be related to court ruling on land ownership • 6 May - Some youth of Adabraka Odorna in Accra who have been angered by the death of a fellow resident vandalised the Adabraka police station. The residents blamed the police for the death of a man who drowned in the Odaw drain. The deceased fell into the drain while being pursued by police who were trying to arrest him • 7 May - Residents of Yagaba and Mankarigu marched to Kubori (North East Region) to demonstrate over the bad state of roads in their area • 13 May - A mob killed a suspected robber in Cape Coast • 19 May - One person was killed during a gunfire exchange between Park Rangers of the Kalakpa Wildlife Resource Reserve and poachers from the Dzakpo community in the Adaklu District, Volta Region • 22 May - The deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Amidu Issahaku Chinnia, was attacked and injured by an unknown armed gang. He was rescued by police motorbike patrol officers • 27 May - Twenty-seven foreign nationals, who attempted to cross Ghana into Togo were arrested by personnel of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), stationed at the Akanu-Noepe joint border post. The 27, made of 14 Nigerians and 13 Nigeriens, concealed themselves in a cargo truck • 29 May - Land guards destroyed the Paniel Prayer Camp at Gbetsile in the Greater Accra Region. According to some residents and members of the prayer camp, about 30 land guards allegedly fired warning shots as they levelled the land with earth- moving equipment • 2 Jun - A mob in Bosomtwe District (Ashanti) attempted to lynch a fake money dealer. Police officers intervened and saved the victim • 3 Jun - Residents of communities along Ghana's border with Burkina Faso in the Upper West Region called for more stringent security measures in the area because of the influx of illegal migrants into the country • 9 Jun - On 24 May 2020, a landlord, Victor Stephen Nana Kankam, allegedly murdered a tenant, budding musician, Spark Benjamine, after he allegedly refused to move out of his room, at Ofankor in the Greater Accra Region. Angry residents of the area burned down Kankam’s house. Adjournment of the case led to a large protest by friends and relatives of the deceased, who damaged court property. [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 47
• 10 Jun - The Tema Motorway Interchange is to have a police post constructed nearby according to plans set out by the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA). • 13 Jun - A suspected armed robber of Fulani descent was lynched by Charia (Upper West Region) community members as he and an accomplice tried to steal cattle • 19 Jun - The Ghana Police Service (GPS) said it is considering the idea of setting up a special unit in the Police Service to handle sports-related issues • 23 Jun - The University of Cape Coast (UCC) donated five computers, one color printer, and accessories to the Central Regional Police Command • 23 Jun - Abubakari Ayishatu, an elderly woman, accused of being a witch was severely beaten by an angry mob, accusing her of being responsible for the death of a young man, at Tataligu in the Karaga district of the Northern Region
Event Date Securing Gulf of Guinea Ongoing Table 3: Key Dates - Security
Maritime
Ghana Flagged Vessel Hijacked. The Ghana flagged Tuna Purse Seine vessel, Panofi Frontier, hijacked by pirates in Benin waters on 24 June 2020 was located and guided to the Tema Port by the Ghana Navy. The vessel was hijacked by suspected Nigeria pirates. Five Koreans and one Ghanaian crew member taken captive by the pirates, are however yet to be located. Lieutenant Commander Felix Tsekpetse, Assistant Director, Naval Operations, said that the vessel was met by the Ghana Navy at the Ghana-Togo border and brought to anchorage on 25 June. Tsekpetse added that apart from those taken captive, all other crew members were safe. A total of 30 crew members were onboard the Panofi Frontier. The remaining 24 sailors are all Ghanaian.
Illegal Fuel Bunkering. The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) in collaboration with the Navy and Marine Police, in June 2020, commenced all night security patrols at the Takoradi Anchorage and the western coastline to halt illegal fuel bunkering in the area. Deputy Director and Manager in charge of the GMA in the Western Region, Captain William Eson Thompson said GMA personnel were working together with four armed officers, who sailed to the Takoradi Anchorage on two vessels, the “Paa Grant” and “Private Odartey.” Thompson said Private Odartey, which was smaller and faster, makes frequent rounds at the anchorage while Paa Grant was anchored in a strategic position to observe small crafts departing and returning to the shore. He said that thieves disguised as fishermen board vessels at anchorage to steal. Others also use large wooden vessels called 'Dendeys' to smuggle diesel from vessels drifting in Ghana’s territorial waters and bring it to the shore.
In May 2020, the Director General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Thomas Kofi Alonsi, said that with trading of illegal fuel on Ghana’s high seas increasing at an alarming rate, the GMA will soon have the power to seize and destroy the boats being used for this illegal business. Disguised as fishing boats, the Dendeys have the storage capacity for tens of thousands of litres of fuel. The boats are designed for the sole purpose of this illegal activity and therefore could not be put to any other use, resulting in the decision to destroy them when seized. The state loses large amounts of revenue and regulators lose levies as a result of the fuel smugglers’ activities. In addition, large quantities of fuel spill on the beaches, causing pollution and other environmental hazards. The illegally procured fuel, which is usually of low quality, ends up on the market, posing risks to vehicles. The Western Naval Command’s Commodore [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 48
E.A. Kwafo, said that the owners of these boats, if not stopped, may become emboldened and even start using their boats to transport other illicit products, such as weapons and drugs.
The annual report of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD) on activities in the downstream petroleum subsector showed that the country in 2018 saved nearly GH¢1billion that would have otherwise been lost through smuggling of the products. The report showed that GH¢952million was saved by blocking the sale of illicit sale of petroleum products in 2018. This was a reversal from the losses made in the last three years – 2015 to 2017 – through unaccounted stock and evasion of taxes.
Project to Improve Maritime Security. The Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and funding from the Government of Japan, commenced a new one-year project to develop the technical capacity of maritime crime control officials in Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The new project titled “Maritime Security Capacity Development for Safety and Security in The Gulf of Guinea”, is to promote effective implementation of relevant regional and international maritime protocols through research and capacity development, in order to control maritime crime including piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
Himeno Tsutomu, Ambassador of Japan to Ghana, said that piracy attacks and other crimes such as robbery and kidnapping in countries along the Gulf of Guinea make the region’s maritime route unsafe and this requires strengthening of the technical capacity of maritime officials. The project will design courses to train about 90 personnel of national and regional maritime agencies including customs, marine and coastguard agencies, police, gendarmerie, national navies and marine observation centres of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The new project will be complemented with research to assess the nature and extent of maritime criminality in the Gulf of Guinea. Piracy, robbery of ships at sea, oil bunkering, kidnapping for ransom, as well as drug and arms trafficking, are increasingly fuelling violent disorder in the Gulf of Guinea. According to the 2019 report of the International Maritime Bureau, the region accounts for 86% of crew taken hostage and nearly 82% of crew kidnappings globally despite a drop in overall global numbers.
Public Order
President Akufo-Addo Threatened. The Circuit Court in Accra presided over by Judge Emmanuel Essandoh granted bail of GH¢100, 000 to a private security officer from VIP Security company, Bless Amedegbe, charged with assault on President Akufo-Addo. He was charged with two counts of circulating false communication and assault on a public officer contrary to sections 76 (1) of the Electronic Communication Act, 2008 (Act 775) and section 205 (A) of the Criminal and Other Offences Act 1960 (Act 29) respectively.
The complainant is an operative of the Bureau of National Communication. The prosecutor explained that in April 2020, when President Akufo-Addo imposed a lockdown in the Greater Accra Region and Greater Kumasi to curtail the spread of COVID-19, the accused made a video of himself and circulated it via YouTube and Whatsapp platforms, encouraging the public to defy the President’s Executive Orders. According to the prosecutor, the accused did so on the grounds that the lockdown and social distancing for COVID-19 containment was a hoax, deliberately made by the President to deceive the public and allow the telecommunications companies to install 5G networks which causes death. The accused further allegedly incited [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 49 the public to rise up against the President and set his home ablaze. he also allegedly incited the public to kill any police officer executing COVID-19 duties.
NPP Primary Protests and Violence. The NPP condemned the violence at some of its polling stations during its parliamentary primaries. There were multiple reports of violence in some constituencies allegedly perpetrated by supporters of various aspirants in protest against election results. Describing the incidents as unacceptable, a statement issued by National Chairperson, Freddie Blay, said “the party is already initiating moves to investigate them thoroughly and, if necessary, apply the appropriate sanctions.” Some of the incidents are as follows:
• There was chaos at the constituency office of the NPP on 20 June, as supporters of the two candidates contesting the Asante-Akim Central Constituency, Ashanti Region, clashed over names missing from the delegates’ list. Most of the affected delegates were supporters of Kofi Ofosu Nkansah who challenged the incumbent, Kwame Anyimadu Antwi. It took the intervention of security personnel to bring the situation under control. • On 20 June, the Eastern Regional Minister, Eric Kwakye Darfour, was prevented by angry youths in some villages in the Nkawkaw constituency from bathing in the open. They chased him out of their villages. Darfour reportedly undertook the bathing ritual as part of the directions given to him by a spiritualist for him to win the primaries. The Minister started going from one village to the other to bath in the open at night. • On 20 June three people attacked the Chairperson of the Sunyani East Constituency, Bono Region, Musah Damtarrh, because of his support for one of the parliamentary aspirants. Bystanders rescued Damtarrh from serious injury. • On 20 June, soldiers assaulted one of the candidates in the primary in the Effiduase Asokore Constituency, Ashanti Region, Kwame Adom-Appiah. Adom-Appiah is the Ashanti Regional Deputy Secretary of the NPP, and contested against the incumbent MP, Nana Ayew Afriye. • On 20 June blows and slaps were exchanged and voting was briefly interrupted as the agent representing Bantama, Kumasi, Ashanti Region Member of Parliament, Daniel Okyem Aboagye, prevented the Constituency Treasurer from voting on the grounds that his status as an official of the Foreign Affairs ministry does not qualify him to vote. • On 19 June, a polling station executive of the NPP at Kubekror in the Wassa East district, Western Region, Mary Adade, was murdered by an unknown assailant. • On 6 June, some supporters of parliamentary aspirant in Saboba in the Northern Region, Emmanuel Kotin burnt tyres in front of the party’s constituency office to register their displeasure over his disqualification from the race. They also threatened to burn down the office. The supporters allege that Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwol, was behind the disqualification. • The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Dormaa Central in the Bono Region, Iddrissa Ouattara, distanced himself from the destruction of NPP properties in the constituency. Some NPP youths on 5 June set ablaze the party's constituency office. The youth were dissatisfied with Ouattara’s disqualification from the primary elections. They alleged that his exclusion from the race was part of a plot to ensure that the incumbent MP and Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman Manu. goes to the polls unopposed. • NPP youth on 5 June demonstrated over the suspension of Peter Wuni Baaga, a parliamentary aspirant in Nalerigu-Gambaga, North East Region, from the party. It is unclear why Baaga was suspended. his supporters believe he was suspended because he criticised the current MP for Nalerigu-Gambaga, Local Government and Rural [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 50
Development Minster, Hajia Alima Mahama, accusing her of neglecting the constituency.
COVID-19 Violence. A 15-year-old, Amadu Yussif, was shot and wounded by police on 6 June, in Walewale in the North East Region. The victim and his friends were holding a party at Next Level Club, a popular entertainment centre in Walewale, in breach of the government directive to have all pubs and night clubs closed. Municipal Police Commander, Paul Peter Akabati, confirmed the incident but denied it was the police who shot the boy. He said those outside the entertainment centre who saw the police ran away, but others started throwing stones at them. Akabati said police heard a gunshot and retaliated by also firing two warning shots. No arrest was made. A group of merrymakers at Salaga in the Savannah Region attacked police officers on 23 June called in to enforce COVID-19 laws. One of the three officers who was pelted with stones and suffered injuries to his neck is in hospital. The incident occurred when more than 100 people gathered and were dancing in clear defiance of social distancing rules and the mandatory wearing of face mask. Three people were arrested.
Over a hundred women demonstrated against the Bolgatanga (Upper East Region) Municipal Assembly’s decision to relocate them from the new market to the old market. The Municipal Police Command arrested 26 women on 11 May 2020 for failing to abide by social distancing rules. According to authorities, the relocation was done because the old market was spacious enough to accommodate traders without breaching the social distancing rule. On the orders of the Bolgatanga Municipal Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Richard Anaba Salifu, some of the traders were beaten by officers.
Some COVID-19 patients in Obuasi, Ashanti Region, were relocated from private homes to an isolation centre under tight security. The transfer followed the take-over of the facility by armed members of the COVID-19 Security Taskforce. The COVID-19 Taskforce on 11 May forcibly broke into the private facility in the Akaporiso suburb after protesting residents locked the two main entrances as well as blocking the road leading to the facility with concrete blocks. Residents were angry at the establishment of a COVID-19 facility in their neighbourhood, saying the centre could pose a health risk to the community. The Obuasi Municipal Commander, Martin Assenso, said all isolation centres in Obuasi will henceforth be manned by armed security personnel.
Protests Related to Community Issues. The youth of Mamponteng, the capital of the Kwabre East Municipality, Ashanti Region, embarked on a peaceful demonstration on 17 June 2020 over the relocation of a 500-seater multi-purpose youth centre on a 12-acre piece of land. The proposed Mamponteng youth centre project formed part of the government’s agenda to create jobs and empower youths through sports and infrastructural development. However, the project was relocated to a one-acre school park, belonging to the Roman Catholic school.
On 12 June 2020, residents of Sepe-Timpom in the Asokore Mampong Municipality of the Ashanti Region blocked a major road leading to the Asokore Mampong township after about ten houses in the area was submerged after a downpour. Residents blamed the intensity of the floodwaters on the construction of a culvert by the Asokore Mampong Assembly. According to them, the construction of the culvert and the road which was supposed to solve flooding problems in the area, only worsened the situation.
The Baatsonaa Divisional Police Command on 2 May 2020, arrested 9 people at Sakumomno Village for rioting and attempting to burn down the residence of Naa Borle Wulu II, a queen- mother. The mob of about 200 people, led by the Assembly Member of the area, Richmond [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 51
Sorgbordjor, destroyed the residence of the queen mother to register their displeasure over her refusal to allow them to practice open defecation in a nearby bush. Some of the residents alleged that the queen mother on several occasions deployed thugs to “assault” people defecating in the open. When police arrived, officers were also attacked and a police vehicle damaged.
Hundreds of residents of Santeo COCOBOD, a suburb of the Kpone Katamanso District of the Greater Accra Region, demonstrated on 8 May over the demolition of their properties by over 50-armed security personnel on behalf of a real estate developer. The real estate developer claimed ownership to over 200,000 acres of developed land. The NPP Parliamentary Candidate for the area, Hopeson Adorye, who managed to calm the situation, described the demolition exercise as an act to tarnish the image of the government, calling on police to act swiftly on the matter. A purported court order used by the developer to demolish buildings on the land turned out to be a court summons which was issued in 2019.
Black Lives Matter Protest Results in Clashes. A protest in Accra against the killing of George Floyd, an African American, by a white policeman during an arrest in Minneapolis, United States (US) in May 2020, ended with clashes, injured protesters and the organiser, Ernesto Yeboah, behind bars. Yeboah was charged with failing to contact the authorities before organising a “Black Lives Matter” vigil. Scores of demonstrators chanted "Free Ernesto!" outside the police station on 13 June 2020 where he was held. The incident escalated when armed officers rushed to the scene and fired shots in the air, witnesses said. There were no reports of injuries sustained from the shots fired. Yeboah, who is the leader of the Economic Fighters League, described as a non-partisan movement, said his intention was for the 8 June event to be a peaceful sit-in. However, police say he violated the country's Public Order Act, which states that he should have notified the police. Yeboah was released and his next court appearance is scheduled for 7 July. On 8 June, Yeboah was in the middle of giving a speech on social empowerment at the vigil when police officers surrounded him and took him away. Angry protesters intervened, prompting clashes between authorities and the crowd before police shot in the air to disperse the crowd.
Landowners attacked. A destooled (dethroned) Chief of Osu, Nii Jata, was arrested by the police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team for leading a group of 16-armed land guards to attack landowners at Pantang in Accra. The gang which is believed to be hired thugs from CPS Security Services, were allegedly operating on the orders of one Sarah Forkuo, daughter of the Managing Director of Osamanpa Estate Developers, who is laying claim to portions of land in Pantang. According to the Afutu Brempong family of Teshie, Forkuo’s land guards have over a period of time been harassing and attacking lawful owners.
Tensions Between Farmers and Fulani Herdsmen Continue. Approximately 200 families of Fulani herdsmen were displaced at Goriba and Zamwara in the Mamprugu Moiduri district, North East Region, in a revenge attack by local communities in early May 2020. The violence was triggered after a confrontation between a farmer from the Mamprusi ethnic group and a Fulani herdsman. The farmer was shot multiple times by his attacker on his farm. Angry youth of Yagaba and Kubori, the two main towns in the district, attacked the Fulani settlers and burnt down their homes and properties and stole cattle. The farmers accuse the Fulani settlers of destroying their farms and having ties with armed robbers and arms smugglers, who allegedly come from Nigeria and Burkina Faso. There have been more than 5 robbery attacks on the Walewale – Kpasenkpe – Yagaba road in the last three months. Note: The North East region has been a hotspot of violent disputes between farmers and herders since 2017 when the Mamprugu Traditional Council introduced a mandatory royalty which requires herders to [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 52 give one cattle every two years to a kraal committee. Tension between farmers and herders also intensified in communities along the White Volta River, with cows straying into crop- growing areas, leading to more frequent violent attacks on herding camp.
Land Protest. Farmers from about 20 communities in the Upper West Akyem District of the Eastern Region on 13 May 2020 defied restriction on public gatherings by embarking on a protest against the destruction of their land. A land developer reportedly deployed armed land guards to the area to prevent farmers from accessing their land. According to the farmers, large tracts of farmlands have so far been destroyed by the developer. The Chief of Asuasu, Osiahene Obiri Mantey who participated in the protest warned that residents may take the laws into their hands should security forces fail to intervene to stop the developer from destroying their farmlands. The Assembly Member for the Asuotwene Electoral Area, Raphael Beyuo said that the developer has also taken over land earmarked for the construction of a school building. The District Chief Executive (DCE), Eugene Sackey, said that he summoned the developer to a meeting with opinion leaders in the affected communities to ensure due processes are followed.
NDC Vigilante Attack. The Northern Regional Police Command launched a manhunt for one Jalil who is reported to be the leader of “Aluta Boys” a vigilante group affiliated to the NDC in the Northern Region in connection with a shooting at the party's office. The Northern Regional Crime Officer, Otuo Acheampong, said that on May 8,2020 a group of ten young men on motorbikes, led by Jalil, attacked the Regional Office of the NDC in Tamale and fired indiscriminately. They also vandalised the office. It is believed that the attack followed the suspensions of some regional executives over the alleged diversion of Ramadan sugar meant for party supporters in the region. On 7 June, police raided the Aluta Boys' base near the Regional House of Chiefs in Tamale. Police officers fired warning shots to disperse youths. They arrested some of the youths.
Crime
Crime Incidents in Kumasi. A gun battle led to the death of two armed robbers and caused injury to one policeman in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, the police said. The police had got wind of a looming robbery and dispatched men to the area. Before they could get to the scene, they were greeted with gunshots from six robbers. The policemen returned fire, killing two of the robbers. The Deputy Ashanti Regional Police Commander, David Adjem, said the six robbers are believed to be of Fulani extraction and described them as “deadly.” Four robbers escaped. He added that the gang is known for vehicle theft and robbing gold dealers at their mining sites in the region. Adjem said one SMG rifle, loaded with 7 rounds of ammunition and one SIG SAUER SP2022 pistol loaded with 11 rounds ammunition were seized from the robbers. A special operation by the police in May led to the arrest of 15 women, who are part of a gang printing and spreading fake currency notes across the Kumasi Metropolis. The gang was rounded up at separate locations in the metropolis on 27 May 2020.
Impersonators arrested. A Nigerian National, Vivian Sadija Imran, is in police custody for allegedly impersonating about 20 ministers of state to defraud more than 500 Ghanaians of over GH¢100,000, so far. Together with her husband Prince Joel, who is cat large, the duo used names and photographs of Ghanaian ministers of state to create multiple Facebook accounts and pretended to be the ministers. Through online chats and phone calls, they convinced their victims that they could secure employment for them at some state institutions such as Tema Oil Refinery, Ghana Gas Company and COCOBOD, among others. Various amounts of money were collected from the victims via mobile money transfers. Minister of [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 53
Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Barbara Oteng Gyasi, Minister for Tourism, Creative Arts and Culture, Shirley Ayorkor-Botchway, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Henry Quartey, Deputy Minister of National Security and Dominic Nitiwul, Minister of Defence, were among the most frequently names used by the suspects to defraud their victims.
Drug Bust. A team of security officers intercepted a consignment of 53 parcels of marijuana weighing 22683.2g on 16 May 2020. The Joint Operational Team comprising the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Customs, Excise & Preventive Service (CEPS), and Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) personnel on a routine patrol exercise noticed some young men moving the consignment at the Beat six border enclave in Aflao, Volta Region, on the border with Togo. The suspects fled into Togo. The interception comes barely forty- eight hours after 31 parcels of cannabis were intercepted by the GIS Border Patrol Team at the Beat eleven 11 border enclave.
Gold Robberies. Armed robbers on 8 May 2020 attacked and robbed at gunpoint a bullion van belonging to Absa Bank, carrying an unspecified amount of money from Techiman to Sunyani, Bono Region. Some sources claim they made away with GH¢600,000. The incident occurred on the outskirts of a village called Maampehia in the Techiman Municipality, leaving the driver and a police guard injured in the process. The four robbers fled into the bush with the money and two AK 47 guns. The Obuasi Circuit Court remanded a Police Inspector who was arrested for his alleged involvement in a gold robbery in Mmamiriwa in the Obuasi Municipality, Ashanti Region. Inspector Godwin Mensah allegedly conspired with another police officer and a driver, who are currently on the run, to rob a gold dealer of GH¢10,000.00.
Security Services
Operation Eagle Claws. On 26 June 2020, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) commenced an anti- terrorism operation code-named Eagle Claws in the Upper West Region along the Ghana-Togo border. The four-day exercise is aimed at training and preparing security personnel of the anti-terrorism Operation Conquered Fist, which aims to create a secure environment in the north-western, northern and north-eastern borders of the country. The exercise is also to test the skills of troops in airmobile operations with the Ghana Air Force. The exercise is hosted by the GAF in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service (GPS), the Ghana Immigration Service, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Bureau of National Investigations.
New Regiment. In May 2020, a new regiment of the GAF, 154 Armoured Regiment, was introduced along with its first Commanding Officer (CO), Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Kofi Obiri- Yeboah, in Sunyani in the Bono Region. The 154 Armoured Regiment was carved out of Two Independent Reconnaissance Squadron which was part of the 153 Armoured Regiment. Created in August 2019, the new regiment is to provide armoured support for the Central Command. The General Officer Commanding (GOC), Central Command, Brigadier General Joseph Aphour, said there was an ongoing expansion drive by the GAF to position it to effectively address the ever-changing security threats confronting the country and undertake its constitutional mandate. He said the ongoing drive would see the creation of commands, units and sub-units and upgrading of existing sub-units into fully-fledged units as in the case of 154 Armoured Regiment.
Dissatisfaction with army’s presence in Volta Region. The Chief Executive for the Ketu South Municipality, Volta Region, Elliot Agbenorwu, said the intensified security presence along the Ghana-Togo border is to help enforce the President’s directive on the closure of the country’s [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 54 borders. He said intelligence indicated that some unscrupulous individuals continue to aid persons to enter the country through unapproved routes, hence, the need for a reinforced security presence along the borders. He said that the operations were solely to prevent the importation of potential coronavirus carriers into the municipality, as witnessed in April 2020. The initial cases of COVID-19 recorded in the Municipality were all foreigners who were intercepted by security officials. The security contingent which includes the military and officials of the Ghana Immigration Service has been deployed in some communities along the Ghana-Togo boarder such as Wudoaba, Korpeyia and Anoenu since 22 June. However, residents in border communities alleged that security officials are intimidating and physically abusing them.
The Volta Regional branch of the NDC in the Ketu South Constituency, said that the military has taken over their homes. The party’s Regional Chairperson, Henry Ametefe, noted that there is “a military barrier in every house” in Ketu South now. The Minority in Parliament subsequently accused government of using soldiers to intimidate residents of the Volta Region, an NDC stronghold, as the Electoral Commission readies to compile a new voters’ register for the December polls. According to the Minority, the sudden deployment of military personnel to parts of the Volta Region is to ensure that residents feel too threatened to come out and register to vote in the elections.
Project to upgrade Garrisons. Bawumia cut sod for works to begin on the upgrading of inner roads in all Garrisons of the GAF across the country. The 250 kilometers of asphalt, bituminous surfacing and reconstruction forms part of the ongoing Barracks Re-generation Project (BRP), which has seen President Akufo-Addo commission among others a 64-block housing unit at the Duala Barracks of Burma Camp in May 2020. Bawumia re-stated Government's commitment to resourcing the GAF on 22 May 2020 when he joined the Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul and Lt Gen Obed Akwa, Chief of Defence Staff, to signal the beginning of construction works at Burma Camp, Accra. The Ministry of Roads and Highways commenced the rehabilitation of roads within the various barracks in 2016. Among the barracks that benefitted are the Myohaung Barracks and Air Force Base in Takoradi; Uaddara Barracks and Central Command in Kumasi; Kamina and Bawa Barracks in Tamale and Volta Barracks in Ho.
The Duala Barracks project which begun in August 2017 forms part of the BRP. The Duala Barracks is first group of buildings to be completed under BRP. Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, said other accommodation structures at a cost of US$100,000,000.00 commenced within all the Infantry Battalions. Currently 640 two-bedroom units and twelve 4-storey two- bedroom flats are under construction, he said. he added that the Ghana Military Academy (GMA) at Teshie in Accra is also undergoing redevelopment to become a Modern Military Academy.
GAF Helicopter in Emergency Landing. One of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF’s) Harbin Z-9 helicopter with eight people on board had to make an emergency landing after its tail rotor system malfunctioned. Nobody was injured. The incident happened while the crew were returning from Wa to Tamale. The crew made an emergency landing in Kumbugu near Ganvuliga village, Northern Region. The aircraft is one of four helicopters that were delivered to GAF in 2015. The manufacturers of the aircraft, China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) based in China and their local representatives, have been informed of the incident.
Regional Security
[GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 55
Robbery at border with Burkina Faso. There was heavy security at Ghana’s Paga border with Burkina Faso on 19 May, following a robbery incident, targeting traders at a black market in Dakola (Burkina Faso side of the border). Personnel of the Formed Police Unit (FPU) and soldiers from the Airborne Force airlifted from Tamale, were deployed to the Paga border town in numbers after the robbery incident. Six armed men attacked traders at the market and made away with money in different currencies. Two Burkinabe members of the syndicate were arrested and handed over to Burkina Faso authorities for further action. Some traders fled toward Ghana’s border prompting the Immigration Service and Customs Force to return fire which forced the robbers to abandon their operation and took to their heels. The Immigration Service called for backup from the Police and Army stationed in the area.
Risk Advisory
The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Foreign Travel Advisory was updated on 7 June and is still current on 29 February 2020.
While most visits are trouble-free, crime does occur. In recent years, reported crime has increased, particularly over the Christmas period. Criminal activity ranging from petty street crime, to violent crime can occur at any time. There has been an increase in street crime in Accra.
There has been an increase in petty crime, like pick pocketing, bag snatching and opportunistic theft on certain roads in Accra. The main areas of risk highlighted by the police are: Graphic Road, George Walker Bush Highway, Accra Mall Roundabout, Awundome Cemetary Road, Pokuase-Amasaman Road, Teshi-Nunga road, Labadi beach area and the Kokrobite beach area. You should be especially vigilant in these areas; keep windows up and vehicle doors locked. There have been reports in the media of criminally-motivated kidnapping in Accra, Takoradi, and Kumasi, including targeting foreign nationals.
It’s mandatory for all foreign nationals resident in Ghana to register with the National Identification Authority (NIA) of Ghana and get a non-citizen Ghana card.
Terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Ghana. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners.
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Economy
Risk Factor Level Trend Economics Substantial Stable
May - June 2020 Headlines
• 18 May - Total called off a plan to acquire Occidental Petroleum’s assets in Ghana, which was conditional on the completion of the acquisition of Occidental’s other assets in Algeria • 21 May - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has taken delivery of 50 tonnes of date fruits from the Government of Saudi Arabia • 27 May - Oil receipts will contribute nearly US$1 billion less to the fiscus in 2020 than what was initially projected, widening the budget deficit • 10 Jun - The Circuit Court in Accra presided remanded two persons who were arraigned before the court on charges of stealing 15 HP Probook laptops belonging to the National Identification Authority (NIA) • 12 Jun - The share of the mining and quarrying sector in total direct domestic receipts improved by 70% from GH¢2.36 billion in 2018 to GH¢4.02 billion in 2019 • 13 Jun - Work on the Walewale Watermelon Processing Plant in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region is progressing steadily and is expected to be completed in September 2020. The project will employ over 2,000 local farmers as well as process about 2 400 tons of the produce into concentrate annually • 15 Jun - Republic Bank Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of Republic Financial Holdings Limited of Trinidad and Tobago, attained certification to ISO/IEC 27001:2013 Information Security Management Systems standard • 20 Jun - India’s State-owned Bank of Baroda closed its fully-owned subsidiary in Ghana and the license was surrendered to BoG. The closure of overseas bank branches is part of the government's plan to rationalise and streamline operations for the banking sector • 22 Jun - The construction of a US$1 million Shopping Centre is set to commence in Fadama, the central business district of Wa municipality in the Upper West Region, according to the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Alhaji Issahaku Tahiru Moomin. Upon completion, the shopping center will comprise 98 modern stores and a police post, a fire station, crèche, pavement, car park, and a 300-sitting capacity town hall • 25 Jun - Morocco’s OCP Group expects a fertiliser plant in Ghana and an ammonia plant in Nigeria to be operational by 2024, the company’s chief growth officer said, adding 2 million tonnes a year to its global output capacity • 25 Jun - GCB Bank reduced interest rates on personal loans from 26% to 24% per annum. The bank also granted a two-month moratorium on both the principal and interest repayment on personal loans. • 25 Jun - Absa Bank Ghana won its first global industry award in less than a year after its full rebranding. The bank has been adjudged the 2020 Best Retail Bank in Ghana by the reputable international business magazine Global Banking & Finance Review based in the United Kingdom [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 57
• 26 Jun - The World Bank Country Director, Pierre Frank Laporte, said Ghana is yet to formally apply to the bank for a debt service respite. Laporte said should government apply for debt service suspension, it stands to get a reprieve of about US$80 million in commitments for the rest of the year • 26 Jun - The CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, (GIPC), Yofi Grant, was appointed as an External Independent Member, for a 2-year mandate, on the Board of Directors of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, (OACPS’) Endowment and Trust Fund (ETF), to represent the West Africa Region.
Event Date Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) 19-22 May 2020 Table 4: Key Events - Economics
General Condition
Growth. Ghana's economy grew 4.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020 compared with 6.7% in the same period last year, provisional data from the state statistics service showed on 17 June 2020. In May 2020, the BoG downgraded its 2020 growth forecast to between 2% and 2.5% from an earlier expectation of 6.8% due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The economy grew 6.5% in 2019. The World Bank said in its latest Global Economic Prospects report for June 2020 that growth of 1.5% is expected in 2020 and 3.4% in 2021. The World Bank said in its January 2020 Global Economic Prospects that growth of 6.8% was expected in 2020 and 5.2% in 2021. Economic analysts at Standard Bank, the parent company of Stanbic Bank Ghana, said COVID-19 will affect economic growth meaningfully. “Whereas growth of 6% – 8% y/y in the next 2 – 3 years seemed reasonable before, now 1.0% y/y seems likely this year, with a recovery only next year. In our base case, we see economic growth topping 5.0% y/y only by 2022,” the report said. Furthermore, the report indicated that the fall in oil prices will undermine long-term economic growth particularly because oil revenues are a significant part of government revenue.
Tourism Support Project. The government launched a US$9 million grant scheme to support indigenous small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism and leisure sector. Dubbed the “Tourism Enterprise Programme,” the scheme is funded by the World Bank. The facility is targeting at least a 1 000 registered companies and individuals for support in upgrade and development of tourism sites and capacity building. The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Barbara Oteng Gyasi said that a five-member Grants Committee has been put in place to supervise the execution of the grant scheme which has four components: strengthen the tourism enabling environment, through training and skills development; developing tourism sites and destinations, by identifying and upgrading the most promising destination areas; providing SMEs with the opportunity to improve their business planning,; and provide support to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MoTAC) to manage and coordinate the project.
Support for Start-ups. Nearly 5,000 tech start-ups will receive between GH¢5,000 and GH¢50,000 from the government to develop their activities. The financing, which bears an interest rate of 10%, is part of the third phase of the government program to support about 26,000 businesses in the country. The government approves a total of GH¢50 million for this phase and the businesses qualified for the program will also benefit from technical assistance in the form of advice, mentoring, and coaching. Since its launch in 2017 by Akufo Addo, the [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 58 presidential business support program supported nearly 19,000 start-ups which have helped create about 90,000 jobs, the Minister of Business Development, Ibrahim Mohamed Awal, said. The program, which aims to reduce youth unemployment through technical and financial support, is coordinated by the government's National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program (NEIP). According to John Kumah, its managing director, 70% of the loans granted under the first components of this program have been recovered by the government.
Monetary Aspects
BoG on Interest Rate. The BoG may wait six months before it considers raising interest rates, even as inflation accelerated further above its target range for a second straight month in May 2020. BoG said on 25 June 2020 that it is monitoring economic growth that’s expected to slow significantly in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Governor of the BoG, Ernest Addison, said the impact of the virus may only begin to subside from 2021. Ghana’s inflation advanced to 11.3% in May from 10.6% a month earlier. That compares with the central bank’s target range of 6% to 10%. Still, Addison expects the rate to return to within the band before the end of 2020. The central bank maintained its benchmark interest rate at 14.5% in May after cutting it by 150 basis points to an eight-year low in response to the pandemic.
BoG Continues Asset Purchase Programme. Addison said in mid-May 2020 that it was ready to continue with its Asset Purchase Programme up to GH¢10 billion in line with the current estimates of the financing gap from the COVID-19 pandemic. On 15 May 2020, the BoG, under the Asset Purchase Programme, purchased a Government COVID-19 relief bond with a face value of GH¢5.5 billion at the Monetary Policy Rate with a 10-year tenor and a moratorium of two years (principal and interest). The Covid-19 pandemic has put a severe strain on the budget, manifesting in petroleum revenue shortfalls as a result of plunging crude oil prices, shortfalls in import duties, other tax revenues, and non-tax revenues.
Addison said preliminary assessments show that the financing gap that was estimated at the time of applying for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) in March 2020 has widened significantly, resulting in a large residual financing gap. Current market conditions in the wake of the pandemic, will not allow the financing of the gap from the domestic debt capital markets without significantly increasing interest rates, he added. As a result, he said, the BoG triggered the emergency financing provisions, which permits the Bank to increase the limit of BoG’s purchases of government securities in the event of any emergency to help finance the residual financing gap.
Spending on Printing Cedis. A total of GH¢306 million was spent by the BoG to print money in 2019 including the new nGH¢100 and GH¢200 notes. From GH¢147million spent in 2018, the jump, which represents an increment of 108%, is attributed to the new notes. In total, coins and notes issued by the central bank increased to GH¢31.5 billion in 2019 from GH¢20.5 billion a year earlier. On the value of denominations in circulation, the GH¢50 notes are in circulation more than any other denomination, as over GH¢5.9 billion worth of the notes are available on the market. It is followed by the GH¢20 denomination which has a little over GH¢5 billion in circulation.
Forex Deals. In the first half of 2020, the BoG committed a total of US$375 million to the forex market, which represents 52.45%, through its forex (FX) forward auctions, following the twelfth FX forward auction for the year. Bids submitted during the auctions for the half-year amounted to US$927.14 million, of which US$453.04 million and US$474.10 million were for the first and second quarters, respectively. However, the total amount the central bank may [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 59 have released onto the FX market through forwarding sales during the first half of the year remains unclear since it is actively involved in the spot market as well. The forward market bids submitted were for the 7-day, 15-day, 30-day, and 45 -day tenors as well as the 60-day and 75-day tenors. In total, 1098 bids were submitted but only 471 of the bids were accepted by the central bank. The demand for Forex was highest in May 2020, as a total of 228 bids were submitted. In May 2020, the BoG announced that, in order for the country to stand ready for any possible major spike in demand for the US dollar in the near future, it engaged the US Federal Reserve for a US$1 billion repurchase agreement (REPO) facility available for Foreign and International Monetary Authorities. The facility is expected to be available for at least six months and provides an important foreign exchange buffer to boost dollar liquidity amid the COVID-19 global pandemic.
The 2020 FX auction calendar indicated that BoG plans to issue US$80 million per month in the first three months of 2020. But for the first auction held in February, the Bank accepted only US$25 million, well below its target. Subsequent data however shows that the central bank is maintaining the amount to be sold per month at US$50 million for the rest of the quarters – bringing the total target for 2020 to US$715 million, according to the year’s FX forward sales auction calendar.
Addison at the PAC. Addison appeared before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on 24 June 2020. Addison told the committee that illegal forex trading has reduced. He said that the shortage of foreign exchange which gives rise to illegal forex trading, is not prevalent. He attributed this to the government’s better management of the economy. Addison also told the BoG that the central bank does not hide information about proceeds accrued from the exportation of minerals including bauxite. the Chairperson of the PAC, James Klutse Avedzi, raised the issue of bauxite receipts after one member claimed that the bank had not disclosed some bauxite receipts. Addison said the BoG always disclosed how much it receive from all exports. It is not in the statement of foreign exchange receipts and payment of the BoG, but in the balance of payment, he said.
Furthermore, according to Addison, there has been stability in the exchange rate market. This he said should be an incentive for businesses to continue pricing in cedis and not dollars. The BoG has banned pricing in dollars as a measure of strengthening the cedi. He warned businesses to desist from pricing in dollars saying the central bank will start investigating complaints against some businesses engaged in the practice thereby flouting the BoG’s rule. Addison said that when there is a stable currency that is not depreciating fast, there is not widespread dollarisation because the incentive is not there.
Furthermore, Addison told the PAC that the central bank was not consulted by Vodafone Cash, a subsidiary of Vodafone Ghana before releasing the financial details of some its clients to government to aid in COVID-19 tracing. He said BoG has also not given permission to Vodafone Cash to divulge clients’ financial details to any other organisation. The BoG by law has the mandate to license and regulate the activities of all mobile money operations.
Fiscal Aspects
Concerns Over Budget Deficit. Addison said, on 25 June 2020, that Ghana needed to raise more domestic revenue to address a growing budget deficit that could exceed 7% of GDP in 2020. The deficit was 3.4% of GDP in the first quarter of 2020 against a target of 1.04%. He said reforms over the past three years had helped to stabilise the economy, boost growth and curb inflation, but this was being threatened by the pandemic, which has hit Ghana’s oil [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 60 sector, tourism and education among others. The government and the BoG have taken steps, including the purchase of government securities, to cushion the impact of the pandemic. The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet in July 2020 and assess the impact of current measures. Addison said it would take further action if necessary.
Ghana Set to Issue 5year Cedi T-Bond. Government will, on 29 June 2020, issue a 5-year cedi- denominated treasury bond, with maturity in 2025. Per the government’s debt issuance calendar for June to August 2020, an amount of GH¢800 million is expected to be issued once during the period. Each bond to be issued will have a face value of GH¢1, with a minimum subscription of GH¢50,000 and multiples of GH¢1,000 thereafter. The offer will be opened to both local and foreign investors. Successful bids will be cleared at a single clearing level. However, in the event of oversubscription, there will be a discretionary allocation at the single clearing level. The five-year bond would be issued through Absa, Databank, Stanbic Bank, Fidelity Bank and IC Securities acting as book-runners for government.
Debt. The country’s total debt reached GH¢236.1 billion at the end of March 2020, according to the latest Summary of Economic and Financial data released by the BoG in mid-May 2020. This brings Ghana’s Debt-to-GDP-Ratio to 59.3%. Out of the total debt stock, US$22.9 billion was external debt, (31.3%), while GH¢111.3 billion (28%) was domestic debt. The country’s gross public debt in 2019 was GH¢217 billion.
Revenue and Expenditure. According to the Fiscal Development Report (May 2020), total revenue and grants for the first quarter of 2020 was GH¢10,354.2 million (2.7% of GDP), substantially lower than the target of GH¢13,948.6 million (3.6% of GDP). This outturn represented a 1.0% year-on-year growth, compared with 9.5% growth recorded in the same period of 2019. The revenue underperformance reflected shortfalls in tax revenues — driven by shortfalls in international trade taxes, taxes on goods and services, and taxes on income and property in response to unfavourable external and domestic conditions. Government received project grants in the sum of GH¢320.6 million, below the envisaged total grants of GH¢407 million. This outturn was however markedly higher than GH¢61.9 million received in the same quarter of 2019.
Total expenditures from January to March 2020 amounted to GH¢20,764.6 million (5.4% of GDP), lower than the anticipated target of GH¢20,795.9 million. This outturn represents a year-on-year growth of 33%, reflecting some unbudgeted COVID-19 related expenditure. Compensation of Employees (including wages and salaries, pensions and gratuities and other wage related expenditure) amounted to GH¢6,503.6 million (1.7% of GDP), above the envisioned target of GH¢5,945.8 million (1.5% of GDP). This outturn represents an annual growth of 19.8% as wages and salaries experienced some 12% overrun while social contribution was within the proposed target. In terms of fiscal flexibility, compensation of employees constituted almost 65% of domestic revenue at the end of March 2020, with wages and salaries accounting for about 57%. The fiscal deficit for the first three months of 2020 was equivalent to 3.4% of GDP, substantially above the envisioned target of 1.9% of GDP.
Trade and Investment
Trade and Investment Statistics. According to the BoG, the trade balance for the first quarter of 2020 recorded a provisional surplus of US$936.4 million (1.4% of GDP) compared to a surplus of US$642.4 million (1.0% of GDP) recorded for the same period in 2019. The higher trade surplus was mainly because of relatively lower imports (US$375.3 million fall in year-on- year terms) compared with a marginal fall in export receipts (US$81.3 million fall in year-on- [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 61 year terms). The marginal drop in exports receipts was occasioned by declines in crude oil (driven by lower international prices due to a slump in global demand as result of COVID-19 as well as excess supply situation) and “Other Exports” (timber, manganese, diamond, bauxite, aluminium alloys and electricity). These more than offset the recorded increases in export receipts from gold, cocoa beans and products as well as non-traditional exports. Total imports within the period under review fell by US$375.5 million in year-on-year terms. The fall reflected in both the non-oil and oil imports category. The non-oil imports declined by US$210.3 million as result of a fall in capital, intermediate and consumptions goods, reflecting a slowdown in economic activity.
For the first quarter of 2020, the current account recorded a surplus of US$200 million compared with a surplus of US$178 million at the same time in 2019. The capital and financial account recorded a net inflow to the tune of US$1,376 million for the first three months of 2020 compared to US$2,707 million net inflows for the same period in 2019. The 49.2% fall in net inflows reflected in declines in net inflows from foreign direct (69.3%) and portfolio (15.4%) investments net inflows as well as a larger net outflows in the other investment account. Gross International Reserves rose from a level of US$8.4 billion at the end of December 2019 to US$10.3 billion at the end of April 2020. This was enough to provide 4.8 months of imports cover. Developments in Net International Reserves indicated a stock position of US$6,295 million at the end of April 2020 compared with a stock position of US$5,192 million at the end of December 2019.
UK-Ghana Trade and Investment. Following the success of the UK Africa Investment Summit in January 2020, where UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed trade and investment opportunities in Ghana with President Akufo-Addo, the British High Commission in Ghana held the first virtual UK- Ghana Business Council (UKGBC) meeting on 24 June 2020. Co-chaired by Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and UK Minister for Africa, James Duddridge, the meeting was attended by the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Iain Walker, Ghana’s High Commissioner to the UK, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, and Adam Afriyie the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Ghana and Guinea. The meeting emphasised the importance of strengthening UK- Ghana trade and economic partnership in the wake of COVID-19 and committed to support Ghana’s ambition to move beyond aid by creating jobs, boosting growth and driving its economic potential. The UK and Ghana agreed to support businesses to come back stronger from the crisis. Commenting on the success of the meeting Walker said that despite the pandemic, Ghana remains at the forefront of the UK’s trading relationship with African countries. UK companies have played a leading role in the COVID-19 response.
Unilever, in collaboration with the UK government, on 24 June 2020 announced £100 million partnership to promote good hygiene for over 1 billion people including millions of people in Ghana. The UK continues to invest in Ghana’s economic potential, he said. Construction will soon begin on two UK Export financed hospitals in Koforidua and Kumasi. In addition, funding and training has been provided to 62 agribusinesses to improve food security, and three Ghanaian companies have been supported to manufacture medicines and PPE. Duddridge made clear the UK’s commitment to ensuring the long-term success of Ghana despite the coronavirus, announcing a further package of support for the country’s pharmaceutical industry that will see the UK investing up to £450,000 to support the sector to produce essential medical supplies and to recover in the wake of coronavirus.
Chinese Investment. The outgoing Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Shi Ting Wang, said on 5 June 2020 that China is now the biggest investor in Ghana with investments creating about 100,000 jobs for Ghanaian citizens with trade volumes exceeding US$7.40 billion in 2019. He [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 62 added that there are about 10 major private investor factories which were officially launched in the past two years, mainly in the manufacturing industry. In the past two years, China also offered about 600 full scholarships to Ghana and about 2 000 short term training opportunities, he stated.
Sector
Banking/Finance
BoG Performance. The BoG recorded a profit of GH¢1.8 billion for 2019 but the Board did not approve the payments of dividends for the year. The profit is about twice the operating loss of GH¢793 million recorded in 2018. In 2019, the BoG’s income from fees, penalties charged to commercial banks, interests among others, reached GH¢5.85 billion compared to the GH¢3.12 billion recorded in 2018. The BoG’s expenditure items increased from GH¢3.92 to GH¢4 billion between 2018 and 2019. These include personnel costs, rent, repairs, and renewals. Total assets increased by 16%; from GH¢59 to GH¢69 billion. This include securities such as long-term government bonds GH¢46.2 billion, followed by cash and balances with correspondent banks at GH¢7.4 billion. The total liabilities went up to GH¢67 billion an increase of 13.4%. In 2018, total liabilities stood at GH¢59 billion.
BoG Establishes Fintech Office. The BoG established a new FinTech and Innovation Office to drive the Bank’s cash-lite, e-payments, and digitisation agenda. The new FinTech and Innovation Office will be responsible for licensing and oversight of dedicated electronic money issuers (mobile money operators), payment service providers (PSPs), closed loop payment products, payment support solutions and other emerging forms of payment delivered by non- bank entities. The office will also develop policies to promote FinTech, innovation and interoperability.
BoG still wants to pilot Digital Currency. The BoG remains committed to piloting a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the bank’s First Deputy Governor, Maxwell Opoku-Afari, said. Reviewing the institution’s initiatives to date, Opoku-Afari maintained that the BoG has consistently demonstrated “leadership and foresight in creating the enabling environment for competitive, innovative and inclusive development of the financial sector." The BoG also authorised Ghana Commercial Bank to issue e-money, and first announced its interest in developing a CBDC in fall 2019.
Rural Banks Call for Support. The Executive Director of the Association of Rural Banks, Comfort Owusu, called on government to support Rural and Commercial Banks (RCBs) to retrieve locked up funds in defunct financial institutions whose licenses were revoked. She appealed to government to consider a tax reduction from 25% to 15% and a tax holiday (2020- 2021) to help strengthen the banks to mitigate the challenges they faced, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic. The CEO of Amenfiman Rural Bank, Alex Asmah, said the time was ripe for government to consider a concessionary tax arrangement for the RCBs. He said such concession would strengthen them to better support the government’s financial inclusion agenda and the fight against extreme hunger and poverty post COVID-19. Asmah said at the initial stages of the restrictions, there were uncertainties about the future, so most rural and commercial banks switched to risk management mode mainly strategising to survive the possible impact of the pandemic. He said that several rural banks have committed resources amounting to several thousand of cedis to support their communities and the Health Ministry in the form of cash and non-cash items such as PPE towards the fight against the pandemic,” he said. Asmah said interventions made to support clients in the farming and other sectors [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 63 included moratoriums on loan repayments, deferment of monthly loan instalment and interest rate cuts from 150–200 basis points, far above the expectations of the Central Bank.
Asset Managers Want to Boost Liquidity. Asset managers with investments locked up in second-tier lenders whose licenses have been revoked asked the government to convert most of the five-year zero-coupon bonds they were given as repayments into cash. The request came two months after the state bailed out depositors with cash and bonds. The fund managers were paid GH¢83 million in cash, out of GH¢1.87 billion of investments tied up with the failed institutions, the Ghana Securities Industry Association, an umbrella body for money managers, said. The Association said that an increase in the cash component of the pay-out will ease the already tight liquidity situation in the sector and provide relief to t clients. Ghana closed down 23 savings and loans and finance houses in August 2019, while the licenses of 386 micro-finance and micro-credit companies were revoked three months earlier. The government in February 2020 decided to bail out depositors in full, to the tune of GH¢5 billion with GH¢1 billion in cash and the rest in bonds. Fund managers got their bond payments in April 2020.
First National Bank of Ghana Acquires GHL Bank. First National Bank Ghana, acquired a 100% stake of GHL Bank (formerly Ghana Home Loans) from Harborough Limited effective 4 May 2020 making the latter a subsidiary of the Ghana unit of the South Africa-based lender. The transaction has been approved by the boards of the two banks and has received the required regulatory approvals from the BoG and the South African Reserve Bank. Customers of both banks are being advised to continue doing business with their current bankers (i.e. either First National Bank or GHL Bank). GHL Bank is one of Ghana’s leading providers of mortgage financing and it is the intention to bring both banks under the FNB Ghana name in order to strengthen and consolidate its presence in Ghana. DLA Piper South Africa advised FirstRand Bank Limited on the acquisition.
State of the Banking Sector. The BoG said that the banking sector performance improved at the end of March 2020, but there are emerging signs that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is beginning to weigh on the industry’s performance adversely. Total assets grew by 20.1% year-on-year, underpinned by sustained growth in deposits and shareholders’ funds. Credit and investments also achieved comparable respective annual growth rates. However, the growth rates in these key performance indicators show a contraction during the first quarter of 2020 compared to first quarter of 2019. Total assets grew by 3.5% in Q12020, lower than the 5.7% growth recorded in Q12019. In addition, deposits, credit, investments, and profit-after-tax recorded similar lower growth rates.
The lower-than-expected growth rates in the key performance indicators during Q12020 reflect the challenging operating environment for the banking sector due to COVID-19. Notwithstanding this, the financial sector soundness indicators remained healthy. The latest stress tests conducted in April 2020 suggest that banks remain well positioned to withstand mild to moderate liquidity and credit shocks based on strong capital buffers and high liquidity positions. Capital Adequacy Ratio was well above the revised regulatory limit of 11.5%, liquidity remains strong, and efficiency indicators have improved. The non-performing loans (NPL) ratio of the industry inched up in March 2020, due to commercial banks’ decisions to slow credit extension while monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy. In the outlook, the evolving economic and operating environment could pose some challenges to the sector. Banks continue to project tightening of credit stance to protect their balance sheet although credit demand could pick up. The policy measures recently announced by Bank of Ghana are expected to help boost the sector’s credit operations and moderate [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 64 emerging risks in the outlook. Measures by banks to control operational costs, minimise operational losses, and contain credit risk while supporting credit expansion to critical economic sectors will be crucial in balancing growth and stability in the sector.
The industry’s investments in bills, securities, and equity as at end-March 2020 stood at GH¢52 billion, reflecting a slower year-on-year growth of 15.7% compared with the 27.4% growth at end-March 2019. Total deposits grew by 15.1% year-on-year to GH¢84.1 billion as at end-March 2020, suggesting sustained confidence in the sector, although lower than the 20.5 % increase recorded a year earlier. Deposits continue to be mobilised mainly from the domestic economy, with domestic deposits accounting for a share of 99.5% of total deposits. Foreign currency deposits (FCD) saw a sharp decline in growth of 9.5% compared to 32.1% a year earlier, suggesting lower holdings of FCD due to the relative stability of the local currency. Total assets recorded a year-to-date growth of 3.5% in Q12020, lower than the 5.7% in Q12019.
The banking industry’s stock of loans and advances (excluding the loans under receivership) increased to GH¢44.8 billion in March 2020, representing a 19.6% annual growth compared to the marginal 3.7% growth a year earlier. However, the stock of loans and advances as at March 2020 shows a marginal decline from the GH¢45.2 billion position as at end-December 2019, due to repayment of short-term public sector loans and a slowdown in new credits in March 2020. Private sector credit increased by an annual growth of 19.5% while public sector credit grew by 19.2% as at March 2020, significantly higher than the prior year’s growth. The industry’s stock of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) declined further by 7.7% to GH¢6.5 billion in March 2020, following a 13.9% contraction same period last year due to significant recoveries and write-offs. The asset quality analyses show that while NPL declined on year-on-year basis, the uptick in Q1-2020 reflect the emerging challenging operating environment from COVID- 19.
Tight credit stance and weak demand coupled with loan repayment challenges by businesses severely impacted by the pandemic can likely derail the observed slowdown in NPLs. Prudent risk management policies by banks will therefore be required to help address asset quality risks. The ratio of core liquid assets (mainly cash and due from banks and short-term Bills) to total deposits improved to 38.0% in March 2020 from 35.0% at same period last year and 37.0% in December 2019. The improvement in this core liquidity measure shows that banks are better positioned to meet short-term deposits’ withdrawals from more liquid and readily available funds. Core liquid assets to total assets also increased marginally to 23.9% from 23.0% a year ago but remained unchanged between December 2019 and March 2020.
Financial Inclusion and Digitisation. The Ministry of Finance launched the National Financial Inclusion and Development Strategy, developed in collaboration with the World Bank, aimed at increasing financial inclusion from currently 58% to 85% by 2023. The Digital Financial Services Policy, developed in partnership with the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), builds on existing technological gains to create a resilient, inclusive and innovative digital ecosystem that contributes to social development, a robust economy and a thriving private sector. The Cash-Lite Roadmap, designed in collaboration with the United Nations- based Better Than Cash Alliance, puts forward concrete steps to build an inclusive digital payments ecosystem. This includes better access to financial services, enabling regulation and oversight, and promoting consumer protection. As part of these policy efforts, the government has set up a new Digital Payments Coordination Unit to drive effective stakeholder engagement on the implementation of key actions.
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Agriculture and Fishing
Controversy Over COCOBOD’s Syndicated Loan. The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) denied claims that banks are refusing to underwrite the risk for its annual billion-dollar syndicated loan over COVID-19 uncertainty, saying it is “simply not accurate.” The report, published on 17 June by Reuters, quotes an unnamed banker as saying that banks are not willing to take the underwriting risk. It will be a club loan with a group of around 12 or 13 banks, with a couple of banks acting as co-ordinators. This will be the first club style deal COCOBOD has done since the financial crisis, the report states. Often raising more than US$1 billion, the annual COCOBOD loan is underwritten and arranged by a handful of banks, before being syndicated to a wider group of lenders. While it has been considered a relatively low-risk way to gain exposure to Africa in the past, the report says that COVID-19 has meant banks have “shied” away from underwriting on this year’s financing round. A second anonymous banker is reported to have said that more competitive pricing is needed as the 2019 deal “was just not appealing, it was priced too low.” In September 2019, COCOBOD signed an oversubscribed US$1.3 billion pre-export finance facility with 24 banks, priced at 55 basis points over Libor. It was led by Ghana International Bank, MUFG Bank, Natixis, Nedbank, Rabobank and Société Générale.
Disbursement of funds to COCOBOD. On 23 June 2020, COCOBOD and lenders welcomed the first disbursement of US$200 million of a syndicated loan facility to boost cocoa productivity. The US$600 million syndicated loan agreement was signed in November 2019 at the Africa Investment Forum in Johannesburg. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the African Development Bank agreed to provide US$3.5 billion in joint financing under the fourth phase of the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa Initiative (EPSA4). COCOBOD will use the facility to raise cocoa yields per hectare and increase Ghana’s overall production. Activities under the facility will include the allocation of financing to sustainably increase cocoa plant fertility, improve irrigation systems, and rehabilitate aged and disease-infected farms. The funds will also help increase warehouse capacity and provide support to local cocoa-processing companies. In March 2020, after the close of the syndication process, an amended agreement brought on board JICA, the Development Bank of Southern Africa and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Spa, and other commercial lenders. The loan marks the first time JICA and the African Development Bank will be providing direct co-financing under EPSA4.
COCOBOD Struggling to Pay Purchasing Agents. COCOBOD is struggling to pay purchasing agents for beans bought from farmers after the coronavirus pandemic slowed exports and curtailed sales. Lockdown restrictions at destination ports have weighed on cocoa shipments in recent months, COCOBOD’s Spokesperson, Fiifi Boafo, said. The arrears have mounted to about US$208 million. The monies were mostly owed to foreign-owned buying companies. Purchasing agents typically secure beans from farmers in the interior for delivery at the regulator’s warehouses at two major ports. The country suffered a potential sales loss of US$1 billion after prices declined from a high in February, COCOBOD said in April 2020. The losses will likely be exacerbated by lower-than-forecast production for a second straight year after plant disease and adverse weather damaged crops.
Agric Bank Disburses funds to Poultry Farmers. Ghana’s Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) began the disbursement of funds to players in the poultry value chain under its Poultry Value Chain Financing Programme (PVCFP). The company on 11 June 2020 released the first tranche of the facility; amounting to more than GH¢23 million to six companies in the poultry value chain in the Bono Region. In May 2020, the ADB announced a GH¢500-million package to support the local poultry industry. The package under the ADB PVCFP programme is being [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 66 rolled out in partnership with the BoG, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana-Incentive- Based-Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL) and the Outgrower and Value Chain Fund (OVCF). The Managing Director of ADB, John Kofi Mensah, said the country needed to produce 400,000 metric tonnes of meat annually to meet the country's meat needs, but the players in the industry could only produce 57,871 metric tonnes.
Fruit and Vegetable Exports Hampered. Despite the government’s efforts to boost agricultural production and exports, farmers and exporters in the fruit and vegetable industry continue struggle. It is becoming clear that a 145% hike in air freight and cargo charges for fresh fruits and vegetables is adversely impacting farmers and exporters as they can hardly increase the volumes being exported. The President of the Vegetable Exporters and Producers Association of Ghana (VEPEAG), Felix Kamassah, said that, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, exporters were charged US$1.10 per kilogram of fruits or vegetables by passenger flights but they now pay US$2.70 per kg via cargo flights in the wake of the flight restrictions. Agencies that work in Ghana for the cargo flights say the flights have to pay landing and ground charges and so cannot do much about the air freight charges on the fruits and vegetables. The industry exports a maximum of 90 tonnes a week, which means that at US$2.70 per kg, exporters are paying US$243,000 in charges a week. Prior to COVID-19, at US$1.10 per kg, exporters were paying US$99,000 (per week.
WFP supports MOFA to assess Food Security. The World Food Programme (WFP) provided equipment and funds worth GH¢1 million to facilitate the assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security and food prices. The items, which is to support the Statistics, Research and Information Directorate of Ministry of Food and Agriculture (SRID- MOFA) includes 12 laptops, 64 phones/tablets, 12 internet modems, 76 sets of PPEs, a video conferencing facility; television set with internet subscription and cloud server subscription for one year. The results of the price data analysis will inform price trend and will measure the level of food security, which would help provide mitigating measures against food shortage. Rukia Yacoub, WFP Representative and Country Director in Ghana, said that several people’s income had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and that despite the increase in food production as a result of the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative, there was concern about people's ability to buy the food they need for themselves and their families. She said that the information that would be gathered would be used to develop monthly food security bulletins, which she said would be disseminated to partners in the food security and nutrition sector, in response to the numerous requests for information since the onset of COVID-19 in Ghana.
Tractors for Farmers. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has taken delivery of 520 tractors to support small and medium-scale farmers under the mechanisation component of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme. They comprise 300 multi-purpose mini tractors for small-holder farmers and 220 Cabrio four-wheel compact tractors for medium- scale farmers. The Director of the Agricultural Engineering Services Directorate (AESD) of MoFA, Amatus K. B. Deyang, said the tractors would be made available to farmer groups at 40% discount. He said that at the subsidised prices, the Cabrio compact tractor for plantation farms, such as mango, oil palm and citrus, would be sold to farmers at GH¢125,000. Additionally, he said, the Cabrio II compact tractors, which were for rice farming, would be sold to farmers at GH¢150,000, while those meant for general farming would go for GH¢127,000.
New Fishing Facility. Demolition of Accra’s James Town fishing community commenced in late May 2020, to make way for the construction of a China-funded multi-million-dollar fishing [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 67 harbour. Local authorities pulled down over 300 temporary and permanent structures, including businesses, a school, and places of worship in the poor, densely populated area. While many are excited about the prospect of development, the demolition has also raised fears for already precarious livelihoods. The demolition by a Chinese government-funded project fulfils years of promises by authorities to upgrade the harbour. The government say they will compensate those with legal claims to lost property and are temporarily relocating fishermen along the coast as the harbour is built, said Seth Raymond Tetteh a chairperson for the local assembly. The project is expected to take about 32 months to complete and will include a school, fish processing facilities, offices, a market and cold storage.
COVID-19 Affected Aquaculture. As Ghana continues with the gradual reopening of its economy after a national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s aquaculture sector is hoping for a quick resumption of normal operations. Jacob Adzikah, the CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Aquaculture, said the sector needs the recovery of local markets and the hospitality industry, which consumes up to 90% of all the harvested farmed fish, to survive. Before the outbreak of COVID-19 disease, the aquaculture industry witnessed exponential growth and contributed significantly towards national food security, Adzikah said. He said COVID-19 affected harvesting and sale of matured fish as the farmers were unable to supply the domestic markets due to stringent government measures to stop the pandemic from spreading. Adzikah said with the closure of Ghana’s borders, imposition of restrictions on tourism, and the shutdown of restaurants and enforcement of social distancing, fish farmers reported an increase in production cost as fish remained in cages and ponds, yet they had to be fed continuously to ensure they maintained the right weight. In response to the crisis, the Ghana Chamber of Aquaculture is collaborating with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre to help the fish farmers remain in business both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2020 fish farming season, Ghana expected to increase production to 69,620 MT from 51,120 metric tons (MT) in 2019.
Illegal Fishing. A trawler owned by a Chinese distant-water fishing firm has been impounded by Ghanaian authorities for a second time for breaking the country’s fisheries laws. The Lu Rong Yuan Yu 956 was arrested on 30 May by Ghana’s Marine Police for using nets with a mesh size below the legal limit and for catching undersized fish. Locally registered to Ghana- based Gyinam Fisheries Ltd, The Lu Rong Yuan Yu 956 is operated by Rongcheng Ocean Fishery Co Ltd, which is headquartered in the city of Rongcheng, home to a significant part of China’s seafood processing industry.
The owners of the Lu Rong Yuan Yu 956 were fined US$1 million in October 2019 for using illegal nets that have been blamed for the destruction of pelagic fish habitats. However, the vessel was released after the owners claimed they were not able to pay the fine, and shortly afterwards, the vessel’s fishing license was renewed by Ghanaian authorities, allowing it to subsequently renew fishing in both Ghana and neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire. “Such has been the devastating impact of illegal fishing activities that Ghana now has to import around half of its fish, and local fishing communities are increasingly victims of the impact of rapidly declining fish populations,” Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) Executive Director, Steve Trent, said in a press release. Ghanaian waters are suffering from overfishing due to a growing influx of large foreign vessels, mostly from China, according to the EJF. With 137 ships, Ghana has the largest registry of Chinese distant-water vessels outside China, according to the UK-based Overseas Development Institute (ODI). According to an ODI report, five of those vessels appear to be in breach of the Ghanaian 2002 Fisheries Act, which limits fishing licenses for semi-industrial and industrial fishing vessels to those flying a Ghanaian flag.
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More Foreign Trawlers to Be Registered. Three new Chinese owned trawlers docked at Tema Port in May 2020, registered under the Ghanaian flag awaiting licensing by the Fisheries Commission to operate on the Ghanaian waters The EJF said it was against the 2012 moratorium on new industrial trawlers entering Ghanaian waters, which was enacted as a measure to check severe depletion of fish stocks. According to the EJF, the new vessels, Yu Feng 1, 3 and 4 were all built in China in 2016 and were all flying the Chinese flag before arriving in Ghana. It said the Fisheries Management Plan of Ghana which was under review states that 48 trawlers were the most that the Ghanaian waters could sustain, yet 76 trawlers were licensed at the end of 2019. In a related development, the Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council (GNCFC) in an open letter to the Fisheries Commission, opposed the decision to grant the new vessels licenses to fish in Ghana's waters. According to them, not only was there a government moratorium on fishing licenses for new or replacement trawl vessels, but overfishing and the destructive illegal practices of many trawlers were having a devastating impact on fish population in Ghana and livelihoods of coastal communities.
Mining
Shandong to buy Cardinal Resources. Shandong Gold Mining, one of China’s biggest gold producers, said it would buy Ghana-focused miner Cardinal Resources for around A$321 million (US$221 million) in cash. Shandong Gold said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange it had signed an agreement with Australia-listed Cardinal to pay A$0.60 per share and would acquire all the target’s equity for AS$309 million. The Chinese miner will also subscribe for 26 million new shares to be issued by Cardinal at a price of A$0.46 per share for a total A$12 million. Cardinal is focused on the Namdini gold deposit, which has 5.1 million ounces of proved and probable ore reserves and has other exploration projects in the country.
Mining Production. Industrial gold output increased by six percent in 2019 from the previous year, while small-scale gold production dropped 20%, the Chamber of Mines said. Industrial mines produced 2.989 million ounces of gold in 2019, up from 2.808 million ounces in 2018. The drop in production from the small-scale gold sector, to 1.588 million ounces from 1.984 million ounces in 2018, could be partly attributable to a clampdown on illegal mining, Chamber of Mines President Eric Asubonteng said. The mining sector was the second-biggest contributor to government revenue in 2019. Its fiscal contribution increased by 70% to GH¢4.02 billion from GH¢2.36 billion cedi in 2018. Among bulk metals, manganese output increased by 18% and bauxite by 10%. Diamond production dropped by 41% from 57,531 carats in 2018 to 33,789 carats in 2019. In 2019, Ghana saw US$98.6 million invested in exploration.
Small Scale Mining Licences. The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources in June 2020 issued 55 small scale mining licences to beneficiaries of the Community Mining Scheme. Twenty-two of them are in Nsiana and Manso-Nkwanta in the Ashanti Region, covering an area of 554 acres and 17 at Akoase in the Eastern Region covering 428 acres of land. Also, seven licences have been issued in Mempehia in the Ahafo Region covering 176 acres, six at Tinga in the Savannah Region covering 151 acres and three at Abosso in the Western Region covering an area of 75 acres. The scheme is a new mining model introduced by government to allow host mining communities to engage in lawful mining and address underlying causes of illegal mining. Launching the scheme at Nsania in the Amansie West District, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, said the scheme would stimulate wealth creation and improve the local economy. To ensure successful implementation, Community Mining Oversight Committees have been formed while a Small-Scale Miners Code of Practice have been adopted, he said. [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 69
Oil & Gas
Oil Revenue Drops. BoG data shows only about 18% of the oil revenue target was realised in the first quarter of 2020. According to the Fiscal Development Report (May 2020), out of the GH¢1.9 billion projected to be reaped from the oil sector, only GH¢331 million was realised, indicating a more than 82% shortfall from the target. Crude oil prices in March and April 2020 decreased to below US$20 at some point due to the pandemic’s impact and more so because of a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia where the former refused to reduce oil production. Meanwhile, in the 2020 budget, revenue from crude oil was projected with a price of US$62.6 per barrel, hence, the shortfall in revenue.
Finance Ministry Fails to Account for ABFA. The Ministry of Finance for the third consecutive year failed to account for unutilised Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) of oil revenues, the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) said. In its 2019 annual report on the management and use of petroleum revenues launched on 23 June 2020, the committee revealed that the amount stood at GH¢1.5 billion at the end of 2019. The ministry was also cited for violating portions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) 893 and Ghana Investment Infrastructure Fund (GIIF) Act 877. The Chairman of the Committee, Noble Wadzah, said the total ABFA available for spending last year was GH¢2.7 billion out of which GH¢1.2 billion was utilised leaving a balance of GH¢1.5 billion to be utilised and accounted for. In the same period, he disclosed that 45.14% of the actual ABFA was spent on recurrent expenditure, with 54.86% on capital expenditure in violation of Section 8(4) (a) of Act 893 which required that a minimum of 70% be spent on public investment expenditure. The PIAC report reiterated its call on Parliament to restrict portions of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation's (GNPC) corporate social responsibility (CSR) and guarantees to state institutions, especially since the corporation was unable to respond to some of its cash calls.
The report also asked the government to address the indebtedness of the Ghana National Gas Corporation as it was unable to pay US$334.6 million worth of raw gas received from GNPC, largely due to the Volta River Authority's debt. The report revealed that US$925.04 million was disbursed from the Petroleum Holding Fund for the period under review, constituting a decrease of 5.33% from that of 2018, and 14.41% less than projected for 2019. On production, the report said, a total of 71.4 million barrels of oil was obtained from the three production fields, exceeding 2018 production by 15% while gas production shot up by 85% to 169,508.61 million standard cubic feet of gas.
Digital System to Monitor Petroleum Revenues. The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, launched a digital measurement project to monitor revenues from downstream petroleum products from depots across the country. The project, a partnership between the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority and Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd (SML), a Ghanaian audit and assurance services company, is aimed at digitising the measurement and reporting of petroleum products supplies from over 20 depots across the country. Known as the End-to-End Electronic Metering Management System (EMMS), it will also enable the government to determine the revenue to be earned on such petroleum product supplies, with minimal human intervention
Aker Seeks to Revive Pecan Oilfield. Oil firm Aker Energy, a subsidiary of Aker ASA, will revive plans to develop its deepwater Pecan oil discovery off Ghana, which had been put on hold in April due to the fall in oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of producing the field [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 70 from one central installation, the company is now looking at an option of developing parts of it, starting with a floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO) in the south, and later adding a second unit in the north. The company said the phased development would substantially reduce the project’s breakeven cost and increase the chance of making a final investment decision (FID), which was previously expected in 2020. There was no new date set for making the FID, however. Aker’s partners in the development are Lukoil, state-owned Ghana National Petroleum Corporation and Fueltrade.
Government Tells Eni Spa to Conclude Unitisation and Operating Agreement. The government directed Eni SpA to start talks on combining its Sankofa Oil and Gas fields with a Springfield Exploration and Production Ltd. oil block. Eni SpA operates the Sankofa Oil and Gas fields in a venture with Vitol Holding BV and has 120 days to conclude a draft so-called unitisation and operating agreement with Springfield Exploration and Production Ltd., Minister of Energy John-Peter Amewu wrote in a letter dated 9 April 2020. Eni is opposing such a move on the basis that Springfield has not sufficiently tested its discovery to show that it shares a reservoir with the Sankofa field, Amewu said. Recent drilling on the Springfield block showed that its deposit has properties that are identical to the Sankofa reservoir, providing “further evidence that the two reservoirs are one and the same,” said Amewu. Springfield, owned by local investors, reported in December that the field has 1.5 billion barrels of oil reserves. Spokespeople for the energy ministry and Eni confirmed the correspondence to Bloomberg in May 2020 while declining to comment further.
Kosmos Energy Results. Kosmos Energy announced the financial and operating results for the first quarter of 2020. The Company generated a net loss of US$183 million, or US$0.45 per diluted share. Production in Ghana was unaffected by COVID-19 and averaged approximately 26,500 barrels of oil per day (bopd) net in the first quarter of 2020, slightly ahead of expectations. As forecasted, Kosmos lifted one cargo from Ghana during the first quarter. Full year guidance of ten cargos remains intact. The Jubilee gas enhancement project was successfully completed in February with subsequent production rates of around 90,000 bopd being achieved.
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Risk Assessment Baseline risk levels have been garnered from a variety of publically available, methodologically rigorous indices. These are the World Bank Governance Indicators, Transparency International’s Corruptions Perception Index, and Doing Business 2013. In order to generate a full range of sub-risk factors it has also been necessary to select a number of other data/knowledge sources. In this respect, the following sources have also been utilised: International Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the United Kingdom Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the United States Department of State, the CIA. While these sources have been used to determine the baseline for each of the risk factors and sub-factors, changes to risk levels thereafter, that is on a monthly basis, will be based on the research, knowledge and expertise of KCCL analysts. Approach
There are multiple approaches to identifying, capturing and representing risks. The complexity and detail tend to derive around the number of risk levels in any given approach and according to the area of application – for example, whether the risk assessment will be used in construction, health, education, natural hazard response, and so on.
All approaches use the same conventional ‘calculation’ in making a judgement on the level of risk. The calculation is: ‘likelihood x impact/consequences = level of risk (risk score)’. Likelihood is defined as the chance of a risk happening and impact as the amount/scale of loss or damage if the risk happened. Figure 6 is a 3 x 3 matrix that provides 9 cells, but only 3 levels of risk. It is designed to provide a non-numerical risk level such as ‘likely/minor’ or ‘possible/minor’. Therefore, this approach has been modified to include a numerical value so that comparisons can be made across risk factors and across countries. Figure 6: 3 x 3 Risk Matrix It is very important to note that strict comparisons across the levels should be used with caution as the nature and level of risk within each country will be unique, even though the general factors are the same. Therefore, it is necessary to be cognizant of the detailed context that is provided for each section in each monthly report.
In designing the risk assessment was crucial that the approach be both rigorous and, just as importantly, that the output be of practical utility. Therefore, KCCL combined a form of risk matrix that incorporates likelihood and impact, but represents this on a linear numerical scale ranging from 1 to 5. It has been necessary to include both aspects as the former is more effective in differentiating between different consequences and in providing more rigour, validity and reliability in capturing and reporting risk, while the simple numerical and colour- coded scale provides an intuitive, ‘at-a-glance’ understanding of the level of risk involved with a particular factor or country.
Figure 6 is the output that has been constructed for this purpose and which is included at the beginning of each section and, at a consolidated level, in the executive summary. The complete risk database, including all sub-factors, has been constructed in a stand-alone Excel file, the data from which can provide inputs to various forms of analysis and graphical representation such as tables, graphs, and pie charts. All tables are a shortened form of figure [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 72
7, which includes the following columns: a numerical risk level; a colour-coded risk level combined with a simple descriptor; a trend indicator (see Trend Key below); and a definition that details a concise explication of the likelihood of a specific risk impacting upon operations (defined as personnel and assets) and the level of response required.
Figure 7: Risk Level Explanation
Trend Key
Improving
Stable Deteriorating
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Annexure Risk factors and sub-risk factors The following tables provide consolidated risk levels across all factors and sub-factors.
Figure 8: Consolidated Political Risk Risk Factor Sub-risk factor Level Trend Month Year Political Stability 2 Deteriorating Govt. Effectiveness 2 Stable Political Institutional Balance 3 Stable Feb 2020 Expropriation 2 Stable Contract Frustration 3 Stable
Figure 9: Consolidated Operational Risk Risk Factor Sub-risk factor Level Trend Month Year Inf. Air 3 Stable Inf. Power 3 Stable Inf. Rail 4 Stable Inf. Roads 4 Improving Inf. Water 3 Stable Operational Natural Hazards 3 Stable Feb 2020 Corruption* 3 Deteriorating Bureaucracy** 3 Stable Reputation 3 Deteriorating Labour Militancy 2 Deteriorating Environmental 2 Stable Activism/Legislation * TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2019 ranks Ghana 80/180, with a score of 41/100. The CPI 2018 rank was 78/1780, with a score of 41. ** Doing Business 2020 ranks Ghana as 118 from 190 economies. This is a slide from 114 in 2019 ranking.
Figure 10: Consolidated Security Risk Risk Factor Sub-risk factor Level Trend Month Year Terrorism 2 Stable Insurgency 1 Stable Public Order 3 Stable Security External Threats 2 Stable Feb 2020 Crime 3 Stable Security Services 3 Deteriorating Risk Zones 3 Stable
Figure 11: Consolidated Economic Risk Risk Factor Sub-risk factor Level Trend Month Year Inflation 3 Stabilising Economic Monetary Aspects 3 Stable Feb 2020 Fiscal Aspects 4 Stable Capital Controls 3 Stable [GHANA RISK REVIEW: JUNE 2020] 74
References
Allafrica.com Myjoyonlilne.com AllGhananews.com Newsghana.com Bloomberg.com Peacefmonline.com Ghana.gov.gh Reuters.com Ghana Broadcast Corporation Starrfmonline.com Ghana Business News Vibeghana.com Ghanaweb.com Worldoil.com Graphic.com Moneyweb.co.za Modern Ghana.com Useful Links
• The Africa Report, www.theafricareport.com • Panapress, http://www.panapress.com • Transparency International, https://www.transparency.org/ • World Bank, Ease of Doing Business, www.doingbusiness.org/rankings • World Bank Governance Indicators, www.data.worldbank.org/data- catalog/worldwide-governance-indicators • United Nations Development Programme, www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home.html • Centre for International and Strategic Studies (CSIS), https://www.csis.org/ • Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), https://rusi.org/ • Chatham House, https://www.chathamhouse.org/ • Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/en/ • Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/ • Organisation of Economic and Coordination & Development (OECD), www.oecd.org/ • The African Union, https://au.int/ • IMANI Center for Policy and Education, www.imaniafrica.org/ • Ghana Anti-corruption Coalition, www.gaccgh.org/ • Ghana Petroleum Register, https://www.ghanapetroleumregister.com/
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